Chrissy Metz Is Able to Dabble in Children's Books Because of the 'Progress' She Made While Writing Her Memoir: 'The Confidence in Myself Has Grown'

Chrissy Metz isn't sure she would be releasing children's books if she didn't face her past and write her memoir, This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today, which was released in 2018.

"I never wanted to do a memoir. I was like, 'What do I have to say? Maybe it's too soon,' and my literary agent was like, 'Chrissy, you have a lot to say and people want to hear it.' I'm like, 'What are you talking about?' She's like, 'They do,' and I was like, 'Well, if I can impact life lessons through each chapter of what I've learned and how I don't have it all figured out, then I will.' I don't know that I would have been able to write children's books if I didn't write the memoir first because of the progress I've made mentally, emotionally and psychologically. My confidence and trust in myself has grown. Going through my childhood and everything that I felt sort of opened up another door for me," the 44-year-old exclusively tells OK! while discussing her new children's book, When I Talk to God, I Talk About Feelings, which comes out on Tuesday, April 8.

"One door couldn't be opened if the one before that wasn't, so I never would have expected it to work this way, but it's kind of amazing," the This Is Us star adds. "They've very different, but it's all a part of me. We were all children once, and I'm a middle child of five. My parents did the best they could, but it's all these aspects of me that I hopefully get to sort of impart upon other people while I'm still walking through it as well."

While working on the tome, Metz would say, "I thought I was over this."

"That inner child work is real — and it's real important!" she continues. "That's sort of the bonus that is happening with the children's books. I am like, 'Oh, I get to show up for myself in the way that people in my life couldn't' — and I know how, and then maybe I can help other people do that for their children or their family members. It's pretty incredible."

Metz first wrote When I Talk to God, I Talk About You, a sweet, rhyming picture book alongside her now-ex boyfriend Bradley Collins in 2023.

Now, two years later, she's releasing When I Talk to God, I Talk About Feelings, which is all about using faith and prayer to explore the ups and downs of feelings. "The first one was a gentle introduction to prayer for kids. When I was kid, I was like, 'Can we pray anywhere? Can we do it at church?' Now, with mental health being so prevalent, there was a stigma for so long around it. I have 10 nieces and nephews, and ultimately, at the end of the day, we all want to be seen, heard, validated, loved and supported. I was like, 'I think we should have a book about feelings,' and if we make in very simple terms, then kids can understand you are justified in your feelings," she says of the new ceoncept.

"It bolsters so much confidence, but I also believe that you have to treat the soil, and kids become adults who are very instrumental in the world and the way they walk into a room is so important," she notes.

The American Horror Story alum, who is also a singer, says that no matter what she's focusing on — from acting to singing to writing — they all come from telling a story. "You're still trying to convey emotions. You're trying to express how you're feeling, whether you're trying to figure out what you're feeling or you know what you're feeling and you just have to talk about it!" she says. "But with a children's book, it has to be simplified. You have a 32-page picture book and you have to not only tell a story but keep the attention of the reader. In some aspects, it's definitely challenging."

When I Talk to God, I Talk About Feelings hits shelves April 8.