Matthew Knapp, a Public Safety officer at Allegheny College, published a children’s book in November 2025 titled, “Maggie’s Circle.”
Knapp worked with co-author Renell Cain to write and publish the book. “Maggie’s Circle” was inspired by the devastating grief Knapp and his daughter, Julia, experienced after losing Donna, his partner and Julia’s mother, to cancer.
The story follows a young girl named Maggie who recently lost her mother.
For Maggie, ever since her mother died, the days are different and everyone around her offers similar advice, such as “time heals” or “she’s in a better place.” But these cliches do not fill the hole she feels in her heart.
Maggie’s father encourages her to go to the community center where she meets a grief support group made up of other children who have also lost someone close to them. Here she learns that it is OK to not be OK, and this support created a safe space for her to talk about her moments of grief.
The story emphasizes the bravery it takes to talk about your feelings involving such vulnerable life experiences. Understanding grief as a young child is difficult, and Maggie learns to make connections with those around her who relate to what she is going through.
The book is filled with soft colors of pink, purple and yellow, with visuals of what the grieving children in the book are describing. The back cover reads, “You are never alone in this.”
The authors’ notes at the end of the book recognize surviving parents and caregivers for their courage as well, saying, “Remember you are doing things that at times feel impossible. You are parenting and falling apart, but know that you are enough, even when it doesn’t feel that way.”
Knapp said the story was loosely based on his daughter’s journey with group counseling at The Caring Place, a grief support organization that encourages finding hope after loss.
“I went to The Caring Place first and it just helped me so much,” Knapp said, regarding his inspiration for the story. “And I just wanted to do something to give back because I feel like grief is something, it’s just something that some people just treat as, OK you go to a funeral, and that’s the end. Not a lot of people seek help after.”
His favorite aspect of the book is how it deals with grief through time and the fact that it often does not fade or disappear. The characters in the support group say that they have lost people years and months ago, but are still sometimes reminded of that sadness and need to express it.
The Highmark Caring Place YouTube channel wanted to recognize Knapp and his daughter’s story. In a short video interview, Kristen Nosich, manager of Highmark Caring Place in Erie, said Knapp reached out to her about two years ago when he and his daughter were struggling with their loved one’s death.
“They gave us the call, they did an intake with us, got involved with our orientation process, and have been with us for at least three groups now,” Nosich said. “So, they’ve received support that really made a difference with them.”
In the YouTube video, similar to the story of the book, Julia Knapp describes her experience with friends at the Highmark Caring Place.
“It was really nice and I met a bunch of kids that were really nice and we actually like got to do fun crafts, and it was pretty fun,” she said.
“Maggie’s Circle” is one of Julia’s favorite books to read, according to Knapp. It is available for the public to buy on Amazon. Knapp wanted to keep the storyline broad enough so not only Julia but other children could read it and find comfort in the encouraging words.
Creating a book will remain a one-time thing, but Knapp thinks it was a good way to channel emotions in that moment. Regardless of sales, he’ll consider the book a success “even if it’s just one kid who picks it up and it helps them.”
