New chapter.

Bachelor Nation got to know Michael Allio on Season 17 of “The Bachelorette” and again on Season 8 of “Bachelor in Paradise.” 

During his time on the Bachelor Nation shows, Michael was open about being a father and his experience as a single dad since his wife Laura passed away a number of years ago.

Last year, he found love with girlfriend Jade Marie and has been very open about grieving his late wife while navigating a new relationship.

Michael is very close with his son James, and recently, the Bachelor Nation star wrote a “heartbreakingly adorable” children’s book inspired by their family. 

In an interview with Parade magazine, he shared that his new book, “Where the Wild Heart Grows,” is a touching story about “loss and grief” while also “embracing the different seasons of life.”

Michael revealed that the inspiration for the book came from short bedtime stories he would write for James, giving him the space to talk about losing his mom, Laura, while still being a kid. 

He shared, “I started writing these stories for him that I found created a bridge between us, parent and child, where the child isn’t the center of the question. As I was writing this, there was a part of me that was healing in the process. I was writing words that I needed to hear.”

Michael also stated, “This isn’t about toxic positivity, either. It’s not about just moving on but about feeling the emotions and sitting with them at times. The book isn’t even just about loss through death. There are all sorts of ways that we can feel grief and loss, whether it’s from a breakup, a job loss, or something else major that happens in our lives, and it’s why it works so well for so many people.”

The Bachelor Nation star teased that each story takes place in a forest “creating a way of looking at loss in a more organic way.”

“Who knows better about the seasons of life than the things in nature?” he said, “Trees losing their leaves… Is the tree wise enough to know that it goes through these seasons and, in order to let go of certain things, it makes room and space for something beautiful to grow? What if we are able to bring those concepts into our own life?”