Danuza Silva on Heartbreak, Healing and Writing For Children
Gold Coast based children’s author Danuza Silva is on a mission to improve the mental health of children. What began as a personal coping mechanism soon became a message Danuza knew needed to be shared with children everywhere …
For
a long time, I believed life had already thrown every curveball it could at me.
I grew up marked by losses, first my parents and grandparents, all passing when
I was very young, and later the grandmother who raised my siblings and me after
we lost our parents.
From
childhood, I understood resilience not as a choice but as a necessity. I
dreamed of creating the kind of loving family I never had the chance to grow up
with, one full of warmth, stability, and affection.
And,
for a while, I had it. I married a wonderful man and we were blessed with our
beautiful daughter, Sophie. Life felt whole.Â
But life is always shifting,
always moving, and soon it would challenge me in ways I never imagined.
As
Sophie grew, she began asking for a sibling, specifically a sister. I also
longed for another child. Losing my parents so young had taught me the
irreplaceable value of siblings. My siblings and I survived our grief together,
and I wanted Sophie to experience that lifelong bond. After talking it through,
my husband and I decided it was time.
My
first pregnancy had been incredible, so I assumed the second would be the same.
Instead, it began a long and painful chapter I never expected: four consecutive
miscarriages, including the devastating loss of twins. In total, we lost five
babies. My body and mind were exhausted. The physical pain was difficult, but
the emotional pain cut the deepest, specially when trying to break the news to
little Sophie.
Still,
grief was not new to me. I had learned to keep going because life doesn’t
pause, and Sophie needed me. After countless genetic tests and medical
appointments, doctors recommended IVF. I could conceive, but something that I
couldn’t control prevented the pregnancies from continuing.
Months
passed as my husband and I discussed whether I had the strength to face IVF.
Eventually, I agreed. But life, once again unpredictable, shifted beneath my
feet. Just weeks before starting treatment, my marriage suddenly ended. And
with it, I collapsed too. It was the hardest, most painful fall of my life.
As
I tried to gather the pieces of myself and Sophie, I turned to writing. What
began as quiet journaling slowly became a healing ritual for both Sophie and
me. Together, we started rewriting our story, one filled with hope, strength,
and gentleness toward ourselves. Daily affirmations became part of our routine,
a way of silencing the negative voices and making room for light again.
This
process became the inspiration behind my first children’s book, Sophie andHer Magical Backpack.
The
story follows Sophie, a young girl who sometimes struggles with self-doubt and
low self-esteem. Inside her magical backpack are positive affirmations that
remind her who she is. And she is brave, loved, creative, capable, and
beautiful. What started as a personal coping tool for my daughter and I soon
grew into something I felt the need to share with children everywhere.
The
book is designed to help young readers build emotional resilience and develop a
kinder inner voice. By exploring negative self-talk in a gentle and accessible
way, it offers children simple tools to replace fear with courage and
self-doubt with self-belief.
Since
its release, I’ve received heartfelt messages from parents, educators, and
children. Many have shared how the book opened new conversations about
emotions, confidence, and inner strength and how their children now carry their
own ‘magical backpacks’ with them.
Through
everything I’ve experienced, writing has become a source of healing not only
for me but, I hope, for others. I now have two more children’s books in
development, one addressing divorce and the other grief. These are two themes I
know intimately and feel deeply called to help families navigate.
Life
can be incredibly tough, often in ways we never see coming. But with
discipline, love, and a commitment to staying positive, we can transform even
our hardest moments into beautiful moments.
My
journey has been filled with loss, but it has also been filled with resilience,
hope, and a renewed belief in the power of finding light in the darkest places.
Danuza
Silva is a passionate interior architect with more than 20 years of experience,
balancing her creative career with the joys and challenges of raising her
vibrant 7-year-old daughter, Sophie. After experiencing profound loss
throughout her life, she has also become a children’s book author, transforming
her personal journey into stories that nurture emotional resilience. Driven by
her own hardships and healing, Danuza is on a mission to help children
cultivate a positive mindset and believe that, with the right tools, they can
thrive despite the challenges or trauma they may face.
