Boca Girl Turns Fear Into Hope — And Song

Eden Gross, a 10-year-old student at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, has been singing since she was 3 and began writing her own heartfelt songs when she was 7. 

The Parkland girl has already written and recorded two songs and has a third in the works. The theme of all three songs is about being bigger than your fears, celebrating your individuality and knowing that you are good enough.

Through her music, Eden hopes to spread a message of strength and the importance of mental health with her peers. “She feels the same emotions that any child her age feels, with that unique perspective, but she is able to share it with the maturity of someone much older,” her mother Shirley Gross explains in a press release. “It’s always been more about the message than the performance for her.” 

Eden says she is dedicating her trio of songs to all the kids and teens who struggle with mental health issues, especially those who have had an extra hard time during the last year of the pandemic. 

“I want kids to know that they can overcome fears by seeing the light,” Eden said in a press release. “And we shouldn’t listen to those voices that tell us we're not good enough. Because we are.” 

She collaborated with songwriter Johnny Cummings for her first song, “Shadows on the Wall,” which can be downloaded on all music websites including Amazon, Apple Music, Boomplay, MediaNet, YouTube Music, iTunes and Spotify. The recording costs $1.29 and a portion of the sales goes to Jewish Adoption and Family Care Options (JAFCO) and Eagles Haven, a community wellness center created for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas/Parkland community. 

Visit facebook.com/edengrossactor.