Welcome! I’m so happy you’re here! 

My name is Marissa Bader, and I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. Writing is so much more than what I do – it’s who I am. As a small girl I would spend hours upon hours journaling, making books, writing short stories, poetry, creative non-fiction and more. For me, writing has always been my way of making sense of my thoughts, feelings, the world and my place in it. 

I  made my first children’s book when I was in second grade (pictured below). It was a about a little girl who wanted to go white water rafting for her birthday but her parents insisted it was too dangerous.  I fastened the pages together with hair ties and made the cover out of cardboard and wrapping paper! I love showing students this book when I visit classrooms — they get such a kick out of it, and I hope it inspires them to get creative and make their own!

In addition to being a children’s book author, I’ve been a freelance writer for almost 20 years! I’ve written for a wide variety of publications such as Psychology Today, Time Out New York, HuffPost Parents and Twiniversity.com to name a few. I’ve also served as the Twins Editor and mental health writer at Lucie’s List since 2017, and I have a master of arts degree in marriage and family therapy. I am deeply passionate about mental health, and my background in this inspires everything I write. 

My Children’s Books

My children’s books are modeled after my own three children, a set of fraternal twins and their big sister. 

The Only Me: My debut book, The Only Me, is about a set of fraternal twins, Stella and Paige, and Stella’s quest to be seen as her own person. Because they’re twins, Stella’s often compared to her sister, and this makes her feel less than – like maybe she’s not as good as Paige. Throughout the story, Stella’s reminded of all the things she does really well, and what makes her special and unique. She begins to realize that she’s pretty awesome just the way she is… and that she’s the only one of HER in the whole world!  

The Only Me was named one of the top 100 indie children’s books of 2022 by Kirkus Magazine. 

Stella’s Brave Voice: My second children’s book, Stella’s Brave Voice, features the same lovable twins we met in The Only Me, Stella and Paige. In this story, Paige is more talkative than Stella, and often interrupts her and talks for her. Stella becomes frustrated by this, and wants to tell her sister how she feels… but she’s nervous to speak up, and she also fears she’ll hurt her sister’s feelings. With a little encouragement from their mom (and her stuffies!) Stella begins to find her strong, brave voice. 

Petunia the Perfectionist: COMING SOON! 

The Shared Journey

Writing allows me to connect with and relate to others in a beautiful way; we all have a narrative, and I’ve always been passionate about sharing mine in an effort to bridge the gaps between people, expose our similarities, and increase acceptance of one another. I call this “the shared journey.”

This notion of “the shared journey” has long been the WHY behind my writing. Through my words, I aim to illustrate that despite any differences we may have, we’re all in this life together – thus, my tagline, “connecting hearts through stories.” We are all connected through our shared stories and experiences.

Some Fun Stuff

When not working on my children’s books, you can likely find me reading, listening to podcasts, writing for fun (yes, I do that!), hanging with friends, spending time in nature, having dance parties with my family and going to MN Twins games together! 

Thank you so much for reading… 

I would be ever so grateful if you would join me on this collaborative adventure by reading my work and sharing any of your own thoughts and stories with me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

~ Marissa