ESSA High: Sophie and Brave

ESSA High, Book 1

By: Lisa McArthur-Collins

Narrated by: Tabitha Rickard

Sophie wakes up on the first day of high school, dreading what’s to come. She’s spent all her schooling being bullied and made to feel like an outcast because of her anxiety—and because of her Emotional Support Stuffed Animal (ESSA), a Border Collie called Brave. Little does she know, as her mum drives her to her new school, that she’s going to ESSA High.

For the first time in her life, she makes friends—best friends, even! She starts to look forward to going to school, all because her needs are finally being accommodated. When a school-wide competition for fundraising ideas comes up, she’s excited to team up with her two new best friends, Lacey and Jazzy, to pitch a book starring her ESSA.

Will Sophie and her new friends win the competition?

"It’s hard when your brain works differently. I’m autistic and have ADHD and anxiety. Sometimes, I find it hard to use my words verbally and understand what others are saying to me. When I get overwhelmed and anxious, I can have panic attacks. My heart starts racing, my stomach hurts, and I start to feel sick. My body goes weak, and I feel like I am going to pass out. It’s a horrible feeling, so I avoid situations that make me anxious as much as possible."

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Even when a person's name or ESSA name is real, the character linked to these names is completely fictitious and in no way is based on their real life.

©2025 Lisa McArthur-Collins (P)2025 Anthony Pica Productions, LLC

I absolutely loved this book I can never find any audio books about essa’s

I loved that this book really talks about essas and how they help as someone with autism and essas I could really relate to the story and I totally recommend listening to it it’s a great overall story

Amazing

When I first heard of this book I lit up I was happy excited to read it. I have my own ESSA and this book explained exactly what an ESSA is and how important they are. this was really good. It shows how you aren’t alone and there’s other people with you to help and support you and it’s just overall a great book.

Not as described

I was excited to listen this story with my child but grew quickly disappointed. It paints this picture of an imaginary school where kids just socialize with their ESSAs and dont have to do any real learning. If you are looking for a story of resilience for your neurodiverse kid, look elsewhere.