First I Need a Hug is a quiet, intimate book about love - the kind that does not rush, does not fix, and does not leave.
When a mother begins raising a child with autism, the world often moves faster than the heart can follow. Life suddenly fills with specialists, therapies, and urgency. Everyone seems to be moving forward - toward progress, toward solutions, toward a future that needs to be secured.
But Luisa keeps asking for something simple.
"First I need a hug."
Again and again, that small request interrupts the momentum of fear and brings everything back to the present moment.
Through moments from family life, Nicola shares what slowly unfolds while raising her child - how love does not arrive after things improve, and how the deepest changes often happen when we stop trying to outrun uncertainty.
This is not a guide or a system.
It is a story of learning to stay.
Tender, reflective, and deeply human, First I Need a Hug offers companionship for anyone navigating the unknown - parents, caregivers, and anyone who has ever wondered whether they are doing enough for the people they love.
Because sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is pause, take a breath, and remember:
Love comes first.
