Linda Matesa did the nearly impossible by writing and publishing her very first children’s book in 2019, while recovering from her second brain tumor surgery and still struggling to see and walk.

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Her first book Snouty in Paris was released by the Mansards Publishing House, and the royalties were directed to fulfill the dreams of children—brain tumor patients.

To her surprise, since she’d thought Snouty in Paris would be her first and only book—a fingerprint she would leave on the world after she’d gone—the writing didn’t stop there.

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The author quickly moved on to write her second book, A Day with Granny Nelly, which was inspired by her mother Nellija. It was released in January 2021.

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The Golden Bowl, a book about grief, is the author’s third, which she wrote in response to her illness because of the fear of death that it generated in her as she imagined a conversation with her young son. The book was first published in 2020, revised, and republished in 2022.

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Matesa had not intentionally set out to write books for children but was inspired to do so after struggling to face the challenges brought on by her illness. She admitted that creating such messages through stories for children facing such hardship as a life-threatening illness or the loss of a loved one, at times even brought her the reason she needed to keep fighting for her health and for her life.

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Linda Matesa resides in a small village in the Netherlands where the country borders Germany. When she and her five-year-old son Kristians and their mini pincher Tommy aren’t taking long summer walks along the river or enjoying tasty ice cream treats, they are either planning their next travel adventure, marveling over another beautiful sunset, or simply spending precious quality time together.

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Once, when Linda was working on The Golden Bowl, her son Kristians came to her and asked her to print something for him that had just come to mind.

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“What is it that you want to print out?” Linda asked him. He flashed her his usual extraordinary smile and said: “If you are alive, then you are happy!”

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If you'd like, you can support Linda continue her artistic work by making a donation via PayPal using e-mail address linda.matesa@gmail.com:

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or via bank transfer to: 

Linda Matesa

SWIFT: INGBNL2A

Account: NL82 INGB 0689049781

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