St. James Woman Writes Children’s Book Dedicated to Younger Brother

Renée Greene Murphy, St. James resident and children’s author, wrote an award winning children’s book dedicated to her younger brother who passed away.

Your Heart’s Voice was Murphy’s first published book. She began writing the book in 2018, but life got in the way so she put the novel on hold. Her brother Robert Greene, 33, tragically died in a car accident in Smithtown in May 2022.

“He was very well known in this town,” Murphy said. “He worked here in Smithtown for 11 years and so more people in this town knew him then my family.”

Robert Greene worked as a bartender in the Italian restaurant, Casa Rustica while commuting to Miami Beach for two years. He had his own YouTube Channel called Crazy Bartender. On his channel he shared tips on shaking, stirring, pouring and all other things to succeed in bartending.

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“He was such a loyal person and his love and talent drew him back to Miami, but his loyalty to his customers and his family and his passion is what kept him back here,” Murphy said.

Murphy’s book focuses on Jade, a girl who has a voice in her heart telling her the right thing to do. Jade is based on the author’s childhood experience and is the combination of her three children. Murphy also included her brother as a main character in the book.

“He’s the person in the book that helps Jade understand that her heart’s voice is actually her intuition,” she said. “So by the end of the book he’s the person in her life that teaches her that. She learns three life lessons throughout the book. Jade is 11, which is an angel number. Jade means the ‘heart of the heavens’ and the ‘jewel of the heavens’ and the ‘stone of the heart.’”

The book has won multiple awards, including the Family Choice Awards and the Mom’s Choice Awards.

“The main focus to writing this book was to help people of any age (especially children) to remember to use their heart’s voice to help guide them throughout life to make good choices,” she said. "When we tap into our intuition it gets stronger, when this happens we rely on it more and become independent thinkers as opposed to relying on external factors to make our decisions go for us- this in turn boosts self confidence which is vital to self growth and acceptance, this is something that is lacking in todays climate.”

Your Heart’s Voice is available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and on Murphy’s website.