Amanda Kloots is getting honest about how she is telling her 3-year-old son, Elvis, about his late father, Nick Cordero.
“The Talk” co-host opened up to Access Hollywood this week about her new children’s book, “Tell Me Your Dreams,” and shared why she believes the book would be a good tool for parents who are met with the heartbreaking challenge of talking to children about death and grief.
“I think that this book is an excellent tool for adults to use to help their children [to] start wrapping their mind around the idea of how to connect to people that we’ve lost. So whether it’s a grandparent, or a friend, or a sibling, or a parent, it’s a great way for parents to be like OK let’s start talking about meeting up with them in their dreams,” Amanda explained. “I’ve had wonderful dreams about my grandparents, about Nick, so they do come visit us in our dreams and why not just start encouraging our children to believe that can happen.”
Nick died in July 2020 due to COVID-19 complications, and the 41-year-old said it is bittersweet to have her first children’s book come out just two weeks after the third anniversary of when she took her husband to the hospital in March 2020.
“It’s surreal. I do think it’s really important to always talk about, and celebrate, the people that we’ve lost in our lives, to let their memories live on and not fade. In a way it’s really sweet because it’s a nod to Nick and of course his memory and legacy that will always be with us, but it’s very surreal to think about how different our lives were three years ago and how far we’ve come and how Elvis and I are like this little team now,” Amanda shared.
In the book, the main character is a child who shares with his mom that he dreams of spending time with his father. Amanda says the inspiration to write it came from her own nighttime routine with her son, who she says knows a lot about his dad despite losing him when he was just 1 year old.
“I always tell Elvis that his dad loved adventures, and his dad would have loved taking him on adventures or trips. When the trash truck flies in the sky [in the book] it’s vanilla ice cream, he knows that Dada’s favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry,” she said. “It’s a great way to start making memories or talking about those people and helping Elvis to understand who his dad was.”
Amanda has been candid about her journey and shared what keeps her spreading joy and celebrating every aspect of life.
“For me the answer is always what would Nick want me to do? He would want me to live a life of joy, he would want me to be positive, he would want me to continue on and strive and go for all my dreams and goals, and give Elvis the best life I possibly could. That’s always the driving force, I know that that’s what he would want,” she added.
“Tell Me Your Dreams” by Amanda Kloots is out now.
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