Lola Olajide, founder of Ruthy Michaels mindful colouring books, smiling and holding two colouring markers on an orange background.
If you have ever lain awake at 2am running through tomorrow's list (the work, the family, the bills, the person who needs you next), this one is for you.
A few years ago, that was me every single night.
I was a single mum of two. I was studying. I was working part-time. From the outside, I was coping. On the inside, I was running on empty. My body was exhausted, but my mind would not switch off.
So one day, I walked into a pharmacy to buy sleeping tablets.
The question that stopped me
The pharmacist did not reach for the shelf. Instead, I was asked one simple question: "What is on your mind?"
I stood there and realised nobody had asked me that in a very long time. Not even me.
I did not need tablets. I needed space. Space to breathe, to slow down, and to put down everything I was carrying, even for a few minutes.
What I wish I had
I was blessed to have people around me who supported me through that season, and slowly I found my feet again.
But looking back, I wish I had had something gentle to reach for in those quiet, heavy moments. Something to slow me down and remind me, page by page, that I was doing better than I thought. A colouring book filled with positive affirmations would have been exactly that.
Studying in a language that was not my own, while working and raising two young children, taught me how much we all need kind, encouraging words around us.
Why it became Ruthy Michaels
I knew I was not the only one. So many women carry the same invisible load: mums, grandmothers, carers, women holding careers and families together at once. We look after everyone. We rarely stop to ask what is on our own minds.
That is why I created Ruthy Michaels: gentle, affordable colouring books, affirmation books and guided journals that give you permission to pause.
And for the children
There was a second reason, closer to home. When my daughter was three, she asked me, "Am I Black?" She did not yet know who she was. Years later, another child told her to go back to Africa.
Both moments broke my heart. I looked for books that showed children like her that they are beautiful, worthy and capable, and found very few. So I made them.
Every book I create carries the same message: I can do this. For the tired mum at 2am. For the grandmother who gives and gives. For the child who needs to hear they are enough.
Now it is your turn
So let me ask you the question that changed everything for me: What is on your mind?
Give yourself ten minutes this week, just for you. If you are not sure where to start, my free 10-Minute Reset Kit is a gentle first step. Get your free Reset Kit
And if you are already thinking about Christmas, our bundles bring you and the little ones in your life together on the page. Shop the bundles
Lola is the founder of Ruthy Michaels and a mum of two. She creates therapeutic colouring books and journals to help busy women and children slow down, breathe and build emotional resilience, one page at a time.
