Resilient Reads, LLC
"Building Resilience Through Reading, Learning, and Thriving"
Books & SEL Curriculum
for Social-Emotional Growth
Families • Schools • Community Programs
🌿
Planting the seeds of resilience, one child, one family, and one community at a time.
Meet the Author
"If you want to know where to find your contribution to the world, look at your wounds. When you learn how to heal them, teach others."
— Emily Maroutian
Author • Educator • Founder
Portia Mills Henderson
Portia Mills Henderson is an author, educator, and founder of Resilient Reads LLC and the Healing the Roots Foundation. Her work is rooted in empowering children, teens, and families to thrive beyond adversity through storytelling, CASEL-aligned social-emotional learning, and trauma-informed coping tools. She holds a Master of Education in Social-Emotional Learning, Mindfulness, and Yoga and is a Certified Breathe For Change Facilitator and Adult Mental Health First Aid certified. These wellness-centered practices guide her work with children, families, and educators. Portia is the creator of two signature programs, Nina’s Coping Toolbox, an SEL e-learning curriculum for children, and Discovering Me, a guided SEL curriculum for teens and adults. These programs support emotional resilience, self-awareness, and meaningful connection and are central to the resources shared through the Healing the Roots Foundation. Through Resilient Reads, a portion of all book and curriculum proceeds supports free access to emotional wellness resources for children and families through the Healing the Roots Foundation, including full proceeds from Michael’s Rainbow Adventures, co-written with her late uncle. Outside of her professional work, Portia is a wife, a mother of three, and a United States Navy veteran. Her lived experiences with service, healing, and advocacy shape the heart behind every story and learning experience she creates. 🌱 Planting the seeds of resilience, one child, one family, and one community at a time.
Mission
We foster emotional growth and resilience through CASEL-aligned social-emotional learning (SEL) and coping tools, equipping children and adults to understand and manage their emotions.
Vision
A world where healing, resilience, and emotional intelligence are part of everyday life.
✨ Every book purchase and e-learning course enrollment supports the Healing the Roots Foundation, bringing CASEL-aligned SEL and mindfulness to more children and families.
💜 The Heart Behind Resilient Reads
Born from my own healing journey, this is my why, rooted in love, healing, and hope.
Through Resilient Reads, I create stories and learning experiences that nurture emotional growth and strengthen connections between children, families, and the people who care about them. I believe we must gently heal the wounds we carry from childhood while doing our best to prevent those same wounds in the children we love and serve.
As Emily Maroutian wrote, “Look at your wounds. When you learn how to heal them, teach others.” This truth continues to guide my purpose to help children and families heal, grow, and thrive.
My books and e-learning experiences are designed as shared moments that support CASEL-aligned self-awareness, self-regulation, resilience, and meaningful connection. They help children and adults grow together and build emotional foundations that last a lifetime.
My Passions – My Work – My Purpose
Healing the Roots Foundation
Healing hearts, nurturing minds, and empowering resilience one child at a time.
Founded by the author, Healing the Roots Foundation extends the mission of Resilient Reads by providing free access to CASEL-aligned social-emotional learning curriculum, books, and emotional wellness programs for schools, families, and community programs with demonstrated financial need.
A portion of proceeds from Resilient Reads programs and books supports this work and helps expand access to CASEL-aligned coping tools and SEL resources where they are needed most.
🌈 Michael's Rainbow Adventures ❤️ A Legacy of Love
Take a peek inside Michael’s Rainbow Adventures and discover the colors, emotions, and love that bring this story to life.
Michael’s Rainbow Adventures was created with my late uncle, Michael LeRoy Mills, who was my mentor and guiding light. Together, we crafted a story that helps children explore emotions such as happiness, sadness, and grief, reminding them that every feeling matters.
Like the colors of a rainbow, emotions are natural, meaningful, and worthy of expression. This story gently encourages children to name their feelings and share them in healthy ways, supporting emotional awareness and self-expression.
One hundred percent of proceeds from Michael’s Rainbow Adventures support the Healing the Roots Foundation by providing free access to Nina’s Coping Toolbox e-learning curriculum, CASEL-aligned emotional wellness programs, coping tools, and quiet spaces for children and families with financial need.
