CORYELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) β Terry Aslin wrote a children's book honoring his late wife Pat, a kindergarten teacher who inspired students with "You can do hard things."
- Terry Aslin wrote a children's book to honor his late wife Pat, a kindergarten teacher who battled breast cancer for seven years.
- The book centers around Pat's daily message to her students: "You can do hard things" β a phrase that later inspired her during her own cancer fight
- Terry will host a book launch on January 17th in Waco, hoping to share the lasting lesson of strength and resilience with others
You can watch the full story here:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A Gatesville man has found a unique way to honor his late wife's memory β by sharing their story through a children's book that teaches resilience and hope.
Terry Aslin wrote the illustrated book after his wife Pat, a beloved local kindergarten teacher, passed away following a seven-year battle with breast cancer. The book centers around Pat's favorite phrase that she shared with her students daily: "You can do hard things."
For 28 years, Pat taught kindergarten and made it her mission to inspire her young students. Every day, she would kiss each child on the top of their head as they left her classroom, telling them she loved them and reminding them they could overcome any challenge.
"Every, every day, she would kiss her kids on the top of her head as they left the classroom. She would tell them that she loved them, and she would tell them, remember, you can do hard things," Terry said.
When Pat was diagnosed with breast cancer, the phrase she had used to encourage countless students became a source of strength for her own battle. Even their 3-year-old grandson understood the power of those words.
"We have a 3-year-old grandson, and he looked at Nana and said, 'Nana, you can do hard things'," Terry recalled.
The book includes illustrations showing different seasons of life, both good and difficult times. Terry hopes the story will leave readers with a lasting lesson of strength and inspiration.
"Everyone does go through hard things, life, that's just life in general, but typically I try to tell people if you look at it ends in seasons, the season of life it's not going to last forever," Terry said.
Terry will host a book launch in Waco on Saturday, Jan 17. You can purchase the book at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
