Eva Mendes may have largely retired from acting, but she is still keeping busy, and just announced a brand new project close to her heart.
The Hitch actress revealed on Thursday that she is publishing her very first children’s book, Desi, Mami & The Never-Ending Worries, inspired by her own two daughters.
The newly-minted children’s book author shares her daughters with partner Ryan Gosling, Esmeralda Amada, eight, and Amada Lee, seven, who she has been with since meeting on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines in 2011.
Eva took to Instagram to share the exciting news, first sharing a photo in which she is carrying up a little girl, presumably one of her daughters, though both she and Ryan are fiercely private about their family life and have not previously publicly shared photos of their girls.
She then shared the cover of her new book, which was illustrated by Abbey Bryant, in which a mom and daughter are drawn in an embrace.
In her caption, the doting mom-of-two wrote: “My latest project is a true labor of love,” before sharing: “Being the Mami to my two little girls has inspired me to write my first picture book DESI, MAMI & THE NEVER-ENDING WORRIES.”
Detailing what parents and kids can expect from the story, she explained: “In this book, Desi & Mami try to deal with those scary thoughts that can take over (especially at night) and dominate our mind.”
“Whether it’s the monster under their bed or the monster in their head, together they try to navigate another night of never ending worries.”
She concluded: “I’m especially proud this book will be available in English AND Spanish por supuesto [of course], on September 17th.”
The book is available to pre-order now through Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers dedicated to children’s fiction and nonfiction literature.
Eva’s fans and friends alike were quick to take to the comments section under the post and express their excitement over the news, with fellow actress Zoe Saldaña leaving behind a string of applause emojis, as the book’s illustrator Abbey added: “Woohoo! This was such an honor to illustrate, I’m so happy to see it all coming to life. Huge congrats and a big thank you for letting me go on this journey with you!”
Others followed suit with: “Love this! Can’t wait to share with my daughter,” and: “Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to read it!” as well as: “Omg mama!!! I’m so excited about this!” plus another one of her fans added: “So proud of you Eva!! The cover is too darn cute!! Can’t wait to get one for myself and for all my little sobrinos y sobrinas.”
