Why I Wrote Our Beautiful Tribe

When my son married into a wonderful family, I wandered into the land of grandparenthood—and began to understand my place in our family differently.

I was no longer standing near the end of a family line. I was one of many people standing behind a child who would need love, attention, wisdom, faith, and community.

Even my “all”—everything I am and everything I could ever give my grandson—would be only one contribution among many. His parents, his grandparents, and the generations before us each brought something to his story. My son’s marriage had joined two lineages, each carrying its own history, traditions, struggles, wisdom, and love.

For several years, particularly since COVID, I had been writing about our common humanity, often drawing upon my own family. Becoming a grandfather brought those reflections closer to home. An essay I had written about lineage took on new meaning: loving my grandson meant embracing all the people who help make him whole: to support his parents, welcome the family joined to ours, and honor all the people whose lives now flow into his.

That realization gave new meaning to an essay I had written about lineage. It also helped me understand what a child needs to remember when one painful moment makes them feel unwanted or alone.

Then Bella Entered the Story

Bella’s story begins when she is excluded from a party. In that moment, her world becomes very small.

Her mother helps her see that she belongs to something much larger than an invitation, a popular group, or someone else’s decision to include her.

Our Beautiful Tribe grew from that understanding.

A child’s worth is greater than one person’s acceptance. Every child belongs to a much larger tribe of people, generations, experiences, and love.

Through this book—and the stories that follow—I am expressing my commitment to my own tribe. I am also inviting families to recognize and strengthen theirs.

My hope is that these stories will encourage families to become intentional sources of connection: passing along love and wisdom, embracing everyone who helps make a child whole, and modeling the humanity they hope their children will carry into the world.

About Aaron Copeland

Aaron Copeland is a writer, children’s-book author, speaker, and advocate for our common humanity. His work explores family, community, belonging, and the complicated ways people relate to one another.

He is the author of the award-winning picture book Our Beautiful Tribe, illustrated by Melissa Lettis. Through Bella’s story, Aaron helps children understand that exclusion may hurt, but it does not determine their value or where they belong.

Aaron lives in Edgewater, Maryland, with his wife, Jeannie. His family—including his daughter Jasmine, his son Alexander, his daughter-in-law Kathleen, and the arrival of a new generation—inspired the ideas of lineage, connection, and belonging at the heart of Our Beautiful Tribe.