Interview with Children’s Book Author Brittany Petish
A new children’s book for Project Chimps is coming out, this time featuring Leo! I had the pleasure of interviewing author Brittany about the serendipitous events that lead to writing each of her children’s books including this one. We are pleased Brittany discovered Project Chimps and wanted to write about Leo’s unique story. She interviewed his caregivers to illustrate and write Leo and the Soft Place to Land. Below is my conversation with her the afternoon of March 26, 2026, edited for brevity.
Holly: How did you discover Project Chimps?
Brittany: Last year I was driving by a billboard on the way to a hike and I thought I have to see what this is all about …
After researching, I realized you let people experience what you do for Discovery Days.
One of the most serendipitous moments that led me to Project Chimps actually happened during Discovery Days last year. On a beautiful visit to the sanctuary, I watched one of the chimpanzees playing with a simple stick — completely carefree, joyful, and almost proud, as if she was showing it off to the world. It was such a small moment, but it stayed with me long after I left. I couldn’t stop thinking about the sanctuary, the peace there, and the incredible work being done to give these animals the lives they deserved all along. It actually moved me to tears.
Project Chimps never really left my heart after that visit.
Leo’s story immediately settled deeply in my heart. From both my professional experience and my personal values, I instantly recognized parallels between Leo’s journey and the work I’ve done with children over the years — especially around emotional safety, trust, sensory comfort, healing, and the need for gentle spaces to simply be.
Holly: How did you get started writing children’s books?
Brittany: I initially started this because my soul dog passed away. I had a dog for 12 years that had special needs. I always called her Blue. Because she was a border collie, and her black fur looked blue. So when she passed, I started coming up to Blue Ridge to kind of heal my heart. I just needed to get out of my space in a way, and I’ve always loved nature.
Holly: Do you do the illustrations?
Brittany: I write. I self-publish. I illustrate. I edit. I market- I’ve done everything- A lot … from start to scratch for all of my books.
In addition to all of this, I’ve worked with children with special needs for over 20 years, including many children on the autism spectrum. Through that experience, I’ve seen how deeply many children process and internalize the world around them, often feeling emotions and frustrations they may not yet have the words or tools to express. There is often so much happening internally — thoughts, feelings, and experiences trying to find their way out — and part of my work has always been helping create safe, compassionate ways for children to feel seen, understood, and connected.
It’s amazing what children can do when they are truly believed in and given the right kind of support. In many ways, I’ve seen that same parallel with animals. Whether we’re working with a child or an animal, it’s incredible what can happen when there is love, patience, encouragement, and proper care. Healing, trust, confidence, and connection all begin to grow.
My professional background is in marketing and design — that’s what I studied in school — but even then, my senior thesis focused on art therapy and autism. I became fascinated by how art can help children communicate when words are difficult. Sometimes it’s not even about what a child is drawing or coloring, but how they are doing it — the colors they choose, the pressure they press with, the emotion behind each movement. Those quiet forms of expression can reveal so much, and they taught me early on the importance of empathy, observation, and creating spaces where children feel safe enough to express themselves in their own way.
Holly: How many books have you written, and how many are you writing?
Brittany: I have 14 so far … in almost a year. And I think I have, six that I’m currently working on with different rehabbers and sanctuaries that are in different stages of done.
Holly: That says a lot about relationships with animals.
Brittany: That’s what I’m saying. When I know I have something worth pursuing. Because I can write authentically, and it’s not a stretch, and there’s no making anything up. It is just telling the story that I see in a poetic- and, you know, truth is stranger than fiction in that way.
Holly: It’s interesting you talk about social-emotional. You’ve brought that up, several times. Can you tell me what that means to you? I know that you talked about the synchronicities; you seem to go from thing to thing that is a loose connection, but ends up being like the thing you need.
Brittany: And that has been the whole journey, and it was part of what I worked on in therapy. When I’ve been working with these kids, I think the reason and the social-emotional thing that I keep bringing up is there’s so much that we can learn that doesn’t have to be like lectured or structured or rule-based. Those moments that give you goosebumps and move you and, and are undeniable, so there’s these moments, and I think that, like, life just teaches you these things if you show up and you’re present, and that’s what I’m hoping to convey, whether it’s bravery, whether it’s patience.
Animals have this beautiful way of teaching us everything we need to be. Honestly, because they’ve done it first. And they did it without us. And they could do it without us. They’re resilient, self-sufficient, and incredible. I think that those are the goosebump stories that I’m looking for to teach bravery, or compassion, or patience, or just if you’re present, you don’t even have to teach somebody to be patient if you model that behavior.
Holly: And what was your goosebump or tear-jerking moment from talking to caregivers or meeting Leo that made you know that you had the story?
Brittany: It felt incredibly meaningful that I might be able to tell his story with the compassion and care it deserved.
But the true goosebump moment came later — after meeting the caregivers who love him so deeply. Hearing how every single person around Leo had rallied to support him, adapt for him, and meet him exactly where he was emotionally and physically was profoundly moving. There was so much patience, tenderness, and respect woven into his care that the story almost began telling itself.
What moved me most was realizing that Leo’s story is not really about “fixing” someone. It’s about creating safety, understanding, and belonging — and what becomes possible when living beings are met with compassion instead of pressure.
That’s the kind of story that stays with you.
Read Leo and the Soft Place to Land to find the story she found at Project Chimps. It will be available on June 1, 2026, in our gift shop and online. Pre-order now at this link.
