Empathy and Horses: Cinda Bauman’s Mission to Help Pre-Teens Navigate Mental Health

Emotions can be a rollercoaster of uncertainty, especially for pre-teens. 

But Mahomet’s Cinda Bauman hopes to help children find empathy as they learn to process their emotions with her series of middle-grade books, “Hope & Horses.”

Bauman’s passion for writing children’s books about mental health began with her debut novel, “Shuffle.” 

“I love creating characters and writing dialogues,” she said. “I wanted to evoke strong emotions for my characters, which led me to write about mental health.”

Writing about mental health for children comes with challenges, Bauman noted. 

“The hardest part was balancing the seriousness of the issues with making sure the story wasn’t too depressing. It took several rewrites to ensure the story ended in a way that gave both the characters and readers a sense of hope for the future,” she said.

Bauman’s hope for her readers is that they can identify with her characters’ struggles and feel less alone. 

Approaching the nuances of how mental health issues can affect everyone in the family, Bauman wrote her first book, “Shuffle” to approach the realities of growing up with a parent bipolar disorder. 

Inspired by an episode of “ER”, Bauman crafted the main character’s struggles to shed light on the stigma surrounding mental health and its impact on individuals and their families. 

“I hope readers understand that things are not always as they seem and that everyone is fighting their own battles,” Bauman said. “I want them to be mindful of the words they use and to be empathetic towards others’ struggles. Additionally, I hope they realize that seeking help and support is a sign of strength and that they don’t have to face their challenges alone.”

After retiring and moving to Mahomet from Urbana, Bauman found more time to hone her craft, recently publishing the second book in the series, “Fetch”.

In “Fetch,” the second book of the series, Bauman addresses anxiety and the impact of a secret from the past on a young girl named Frankie. “Even though I’ve never experienced severe anxiety with panic attacks, I’ve always been shy and very nervous in new situations,” Bauman shared. Her personal experiences, coupled with extensive research and conversations with those affected by anxiety, helped her authentically portray Frankie’s struggles.

“Tweens’ emotions are on a hormonal rollercoaster even without anxiety, so my goal was to tap into the feeling of a normal amount of embarrassment and fear for this age group, amplified by ten,” Bauman said.

Writing about mental health for children comes with its challenges, Bauman noted. 

“The hardest part was balancing the seriousness of the issues with making sure the story wasn’t too depressing,” she said. “I had to include scenes that allowed the characters to have some fun and be typical pre-teens without downplaying the severity of their situations.”

That fun comes not only in friendship and community but also by way of experiences with horses.

“As a teenager, I was feeling really upset when I saw a gorgeous black horse in a pasture,” Bauman remembers. “When I reached the fence, the horse ran towards me, its tail and mane flowing in the wind like a scene from a movie. It stopped at the fence and stood looking at me, as if it understood everything I was feeling, and was just willing to hang out with me for a while. 

“I wanted my characters to have a friend to talk to, even when they weren’t ready to talk to people.”

Bauman has ambitious plans for the future. 

The upcoming book in the series, “Gallop,” centers on Eli, a boy grappling with anger and loss following his parents’ divorce. 

“To make matters worse, his mom thought a fresh start would help them both heal, so she moved them from the city where he grew up to a rural town where he had no friends and no plans to make any,” Bauman revealed. 

Through his friendship with Kylie and his experiences with horses, Eli learns to manage his anger and find a way to keep horseback riding, which becomes a crucial outlet for him.

“Eli’s story explores how allowing new people and interests into your life can help you forgive those who have caused you pain,” Bauman said.

More “free” time during retirement has helped Bauman to find her own voice, too. Not just through the written word, but also visual art.

With a newfound love for cut-paper sculpture illustrations, Bauman created the covers for the “Hope & Horses” series. 

“There’s nothing I would love more than to supplement my retirement with writing and creating art,” she said. “It would be a blessing to earn money from something I’ve dreamed of and now have time and energy to pursue.”

But that’s not all Bauman dreams of. 

“I also would love to hear from young readers who have found something in my books impacted their lives in a positive way or inspired them to say their first prayer.”

It’s unclear whether or not the “Hope & Horse” series has more installments, but Bauman is ready to tell more stories. 

“I have several picture book manuscripts from over the years,” she said. 

“I’ve been thinking about writing another middle-grade novel series set in the South Carolina Lowcountry, my favorite vacation spot.”