Meet Morris Brown
The love fathers have for their kids, especially their daughters, is unmatched. Most would go to the ends of the earth to provide their daughters with everything they want and need, whether it’s life experiences or proper direction in guiding them to the best life possible. Morris Brown provided his daughters with that experience through fictional and nonfictional tactics.
Brown boasts an illustrious career as a video editor/director for esteemed networks such as FOX Sports, CNN, and NBC while establishing his own successful production company. Extending his passion for teaching as a highly regarded former instructor at UCLA Extension while building his legacy in the production industry. He also created a book for his daughters about all their adventures.
“I had an idea to write this book called’ Hanging with the Girls’ because we loved going to the park and had already been to over 30 parks, and I wanted to keep the memories permanent,” Brown said as he talked about the initial thought that led to the creation of the book 15 years prior. “I got caught up in work and never was able to sit down and write, but then COVID hit, and it finally gave me the time I needed to flesh out my idea on paper.”
Brown initially wrote an 800-page kids book, but got caught up in reliving the past on the pages and not breaking them down, which he credits to his girls for giving him so much to write about. He then cut the book in half and released a 400-page book, and after the release, he realized it was still too much information for people to digest at once and decided to break the 400-page book down into 11 chapter books. Those 11 books reflect the experience the family had at each park.
“I made a list of all the parks we visited from South L.A. to Culver City, and revisiting those memories made me realize each park had its own story,” Brown said as he talked about the process of breaking down the 400-page book into 11 books. “Each of the 11 books contains two to three parks that my family and I had a shared experience with, and it helps people learn about more parks without being consumed with so much information at once.”
Before the rerelease, Brown brought the books to his daughters to get their reaction, which he stated was a beautiful moment between them, “They started flipping through the pages and started crying reading about the memories we created in their life.” Brown said as he talked about the core moments he shared with his daughters. “Not many kids can say their dad created a book for them about their life and memories they created together, and I’m so happy I could do that for my daughters.”
Brown also added his imagination to some of the stories as some books contain real people and real-life situations, which caused him to make some changes to better fit the story. “It’s a few stories that weren’t exactly the experience we had at certain parks like book ‘11 Park Ave’ where in the story the interaction with a guy, I had to spruce up a little and change it to a happy ending, even though in real life the interaction was a little more violent.”
Brown also talked about the life lesson he learned while creating the books, which was to save every moment and experience with your kids because you will never get another chance to experience life again with them as kids. “You hear so many stories about Black dads that aren’t present in their kid’s lives, and I never wanted my kids to be able to associate with it,” Brown said as he talked about the importance of being present in your kid’s lives every step of the way. “There’s a little sweet spot between 2 and 12 that parents should maximize as those are building block moments and develop the foundation of your bond with them.”
“Hangin With The Girls” collection is based on parks and aquariums in Southern California. Brown is gearing up to release the second collection that features 10 new books with 10 new parks and experiences Brown and his daughters had. He also is in the process of creating an animated series for the books and already has a trailer on the site for viewing.
You can purchase the books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online outlets. You can also visit the official website of the collection by going to Ihangwiththegirls.com.
