BOISE, Idaho – Over the past few years, Cherokee Nation citizen Amy Orlovich has created a universe with a wombat at the center who goes on adventures with his friends and family while also learning skills to face difficult situations that may arise in life.

Orlovich first introduced Wilson the Wombat in her 2021 children’s book, “Wilson the Wombat and the Nighttime What-If Worries.” In 2023, she continued Wilson’s story in “Wilson the Wombat Bravely Charges The Storm.”

In her second book, Wilson and his family travel from Australia to Yellowstone National Park in the United States. There, he meets new friends and learns of bison, the Cherokee Nation and how to “charge the storm.”

“This one mostly came from my son who taught me about the story of bison and them charging the storm. He went through some hard stuff in high school … so, the bison and facing the storm became kind of like, not a motto, but something that he would go back to,” she said.

Orlovich, who is a licensed clinical professional counselor, said her books not only tell a colorful story but they also come from a counselor’s prospective.

“Wilson The Wombat Bravely Charges The Storm” was released in 2023 and written by Cherokee Nation citizen Amy Orlovich. Orlovich’s book follows Wilson and show him learning skills to help face difficult situations that may arise in life.

“They’re kind of like three stories in one. One of them is just a cute story that you can read along on their journey. Another aspect of it is learning about animals or the place or in this book a little bit about the Cherokee Nation. Then the third component is from a counseling perspective,” she said. “In this, I try to have a few different kinds of things that you can do with kids if they’re facing a difficult situation to kind of help them cope in a healthy way.”

While the books talk about some complex topics, Orlovich said she works to present them in an understandable way.

“Some of the stuff in here is really complex, but what I like to do as a therapist is be able to talk about complex clinical things in a way that everybody can understand,” she said. “So that’s why I’ve always really liked children’s books that had like meat to them … complex topics being able to be broken down into just plain, understandable words.”

Orlovich also pays homage to being Cherokee and puts a spotlight on the Cherokee Nation Bison Ranch in Delaware County.

“I’ve had a lot of people like this book because of learning about the animals … and then some people have really liked specifically the information about the … InterTribal Buffalo Council where they take the different bison from Yellowstone to strengthen the herds,” she said.

As for the book, Orlovich hopes that readers not only enjoy Wilson’s adventures but learn valuable tools.

“I hope people enjoy it and think it’s funny and enjoy the pictures. But I hope that there’s a couple of little tools in there that they learn that actually help them through some difficult situations,” she said.

She added she plans to continue Wilson’s story as well as adding words of encouragement to each book.

“On the last page … it has kind of like a truths for you page. It says, ‘You’re dearly loved, you can do hard things, you are creative, you already have what you need to charge the storm. So, face it and charge,’” she said. “I think it’s important to remind people and kids that they’re loved and unique and special and chosen and all those kinds of things.”

To purchase either of Orlovich’s books, visit amazon.com/stores/author/B097GF529Z.