All about friendship and joy!
By John Gregory
Scripps Ranch resident Lisa Cortez authored and published “The Adventures of Marie and LeeLee,” a children’s book highlighting the joys of friendship.
“It’s based on my friendship with my best friend Marie. We met when we were 10 years old. She was like a sister to me – just the best friend a person could ask for. Truly a bright light,” Cortez said.
The book explores the fun adventures of two girls and their everlasting bond. It’s a happy description of the importance of a good friendship in which so many can relate. Furthermore, Cortez, who is a pediatric speech-language pathologist, incorporated techniques within the publication to help stimulate language development for the book’s young readers.
“At the heart of the story is friendship and really how these everyday things you do with your friends and your loved ones turn into lasting memories,” she said. “It’s very simple everyday things that we did together that, at the time, just seemed like fun things we were doing together, but then – reflecting back as an adult – those are the things that meant so much. We were creating these beautiful memories.”
Unfortunately, the author’s real life best friend, Marie, died at age 42 after struggling against cancer for eight years. The two stayed in touch as adults even though they lived on separate coasts. Marie was a very active person, Cortez said. She worked full time. She was an avid dancer. She was a singer, played piano and traveled the world. She kept coming back even stronger from her various bouts with cancer. This book is a tribute to Marie.
But “The Adventures of Marie and LeeLee” is a joyful, fun tale about an eternal bond.
“I want it to be a way to spread her joy,” Cortez said.
“People send me pictures of their kids with the book, which is really, really neat,” she said.
Cortez shared an example of the fun responses she has received from children and their parents:
“One was from a little girl that said she and her best friend laughed even harder than Marie and LeeLee,” she said.
Marie was involved in an organization called New York Cares, which provides a centralized way to connect volunteers with opportunities including youth programs. A portion of the sales from this book will be donated to New York Cares.
“The Adventures of Marie and LeeLee” is available on Amazon. A Spanish version is in the works.