The Calm Inside
A Stoic Guide to Staying Steady
9781963981100
32 pages
Fair Share Publishing Llc
Overview
The Calm Inside A Stoic Guide to Staying Steady What if an ancient philosophy could help kids navigate spilled lunches, hurt feelings, and everyday frustrations, without ever feeling like a lesson? In a bustling classroom full of noise, dropped pencils, and big feelings, one student stands out: Marc. He's calm when others rush, steady when things go wrong, and somehow always knows just what to say when a friend is struggling. His secret? The timeless wisdom of Stoic philosophy reframed for young hearts and minds. Amara, Marc's curious classmate, can't figure out how Marc stays so composed. So she starts paying closer attention and what she discovers changes everything. Through five gentle, relatable moments a spilled lunch tray, a lonely recess, a lost kickball game, a failed science project, and a broken art piece, Amara watches as Marc helps his friends navigate frustration, embarrassment, and disappointment. But Marc isn't just teaching them to "stay calm." He's showing them something deeper: how to feel their feelings fully, and then choose what to do next. As the wisdom spreads from friend to friend, and even to their teacher, the classroom transforms into a community of thoughtful, resilient thinkers who know how to weather life's storms together. Written by Stoicism expert Shermin Kruse, The Calm Inside introduces young readers (ages 4–8) to emotional resilience, kindness, and the power of choosing their response. With warm, accessible language and a narrator kids will love, this beautifully illustrated picture book offers children (and the adults who read with them) practical tools for navigating big emotions and everyday challenges. Perfect for classrooms, families, and anyone looking to raise emotionally intelligent, empathetic kids, The Calm Inside is a story about finding strength not by ignoring feelings, but by meeting them with courage and care.
Author Bio
Shermin Kruse is a globally recognized author, law professor, and TEDx producer whose work in empathy, Stoicism, and leadership has influenced audiences from corporate boardrooms to university classrooms and international stages. Born in Tehran during profound social and political upheaval, Shermin began her writing journey at age 10, penning poetry in Farsi as a means of processing life under the pressures of war and governmental oppression. Her family later immigrated to Canada, marking the beginning of a journey that would see her rise from a young immigrant to a celebrated thought leader and global voice. With a background in philosophy and neuropsychology from the University of Toronto and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, Shermin spent 17 years as a partner at Barack Ferrazzano, representing Fortune 500 clients in high-stakes international negotiations. This experience became the foundation for her pioneering work in tactical empathy—a method that combines cognitive empathy with strategic action to create lasting impact. Shermin is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Butterfly Stitching, which interweaves her family's experiences in Iran with themes of resilience, love, and survival. She is also the author of Stoic Empathy, a transformative guide that blends neuroscience, philosophy, and personal narrative to help readers cultivate influence, self-leadership, and emotional regulation. Her textbook Global Transactions and Regulation serves as an essential resource for law students and business professionals. As founder and executive producer of TEDxWrigleyville, Shermin has produced over 80 TEDx and TED talks with millions of views. She has delivered three TEDx talks herself and frequently speaks on Stoic empathy and leadership through outlets including NPR, PBS, and influential podcasts. A professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where she teaches Stoic empathy, negotiations, and leadership, Shermin also serves on the boards of organizations including the ACLU and RefuSHE. Her humanitarian work has earned her recognition as one of the nation's top 100 "Women to Watch" by BizWomen Magazine. The Calm Inside is her first children's book, bringing Stoic philosophy to young readers with warmth, wisdom, and accessibility. Shermin lives in Chicago with her four children. Bece Luna is an illustrator and art-educator from São Paulo, Brazil. Fascinated by the possibilities of storytelling since she was a kid, she would usually be found doodling as many characters as she could fit in the margins of her notebooks, or obsessing over cartoons, a passion that led her to pursue a career as a freelance illustrator. She studied Visual Arts at the University of Campinas, and works mainly through digital paintings. Trying to encapsulate the feeling of sunny afternoons in her drawings, she gathers inspiration from her hometown, nostalgic memories of her childhood and unlikely heroes from her favorite films.
