This past week reminded me just how full-circle life can be when you allow healing to lead.
I’ve been on the road sharing Oh Brother, My Brother, my debut children’s book about brotherhood, blended families, identity, and connection. From my first television interview in Northwest Arkansas on Good Day NWA, to radio conversations, to walking into local bookstores and introducing myself face-to-face, every moment felt humbling and grounding. It wasn’t about promotion alone. It was about presence (Read AY Magazine feature).
What struck me most wasn’t the media attention. It was the peace I felt while telling this story.
That same sense of peace showed up when I spoke to students at the Little Rock School District’s Student Leadership Institute. When asked what skills future leaders truly need, my answer was simple but intentional: adaptability, relationship-building, communication, and mindfulness. I told them that their greatest asset is their mind, and learning how to regulate emotions will matter just as much as any technical skill.
I didn’t always know that. I shared with them a story about my leadership journey that led me to become an author.
A few years ago, I was at what looked like the pinnacle of my career. I was traveling the country, doing meaningful work, earning more than I ever had, and leading projects I was proud of—including helping facilitate a $230 million broadband initiative in rural Alabama. I had moved my family hundreds of miles for the role. Then one day, I was told my department was being eliminated. Since I was a department of one, I was being let go.
I felt small. Angry. Lost.
For the first time in a long time, I had to ask myself questions many people avoid: Who am I without the title? What happens when the plan changes? Where do I go from here?
That moment forced me to reconnect with a younger version of myself—the 15-year-old who loved creativity, storytelling, leading people, and possibility. The version of me who once said, “I want to be a writer.” That reconnection is what led me to fully pour into Oh Brother, My Brother.
Writing this book wasn’t just a creative project. It was therapy.
It required me to revisit my own childhood, my experience growing up in a blended family, and the conversations I wish had happened sooner. It pushed me to talk openly with my parents, to process old wounds, and to heal alongside my own children. I brought them into that healing through meditation, movement, routines, and presence long before they understood what I was working through.
That’s why this book exists.
Oh Brother, My Brother is about building secure bonds early between children and parents, siblings, and families, navigating complexity. When children feel emotionally safe and connected, it changes how they face adversity later in life. It shapes how they love, lead, and regulate themselves as adults.
Healing opened the door for this opportunity. And because of that healing, I was ready when the right one arrived.
Oh Brother, My Brother releases February 1. I hope you’ll read it, share it, and use it as a tool for connection in your own home or community.
This book isn’t just mine. It’s yours.
You can order it online at www.brandondcampbell or your local bookstore starting February 1st, and I’d love to celebrate with you in person at the Hillary Clinton Children’s Library, located at 4800 W 10th St, Little Rock, AR 72204, on February 7 at noon.
Let’s start the healing sooner together.
