St. Paul author, minister and artist Peggy Pugh holds her new holiday-themed coloring book Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. Pugh is hoping to donate 100 copies of the new book, along with coloring tools, by Saturday. (Talia McWright / Pioneer Press)
Peggy Pugh remembers coloring at 3 years old. She remembers how her parents would argue in the background and how, despite the chaos in the home, she’d find her own little pocket of peace. One that was all hers. A blank canvas she could color with whatever colors she’d like.
“Coloring is very healing,” Pugh said.
This holiday season, Pugh designed her own holiday-themed adult coloring book, geared toward women. Pugh is hoping to donate 100 copies of “Rest & Color Coloring Book for Women: Christmas Edition,” along with coloring utensils, to women living in local shelters and experiencing homelessness. She currently has 53 sets sponsored, and is asking the public to consider helping her reach her goal of 100 by Saturday to gift “to women who may otherwise not receive presents on Christmas.”
“We focus a lot on how joyful the holidays are: people out shopping and spending time being with family,” Pugh said. “That’s one side of the story. There’s another side of the story, where some people don’t know where their family members are or their family members have given up on them.”
During the holidays, for people who don’t have the money they wish they had, “it ends up being a sad kind of day.”
Worthy of rest
At 72, the St. Paul author, minister and entrepreneur has accomplished many things. She’s worked in the professional sphere, raised children, created jewelry lines and continues to follow whatever creative venture she’s inspired by next, she said. And still, after a long, jam-packed day, when Pugh picks up a coloring book at the edge of her bed, she is transported to a place of childlike artistry, consumed by the feeling of peace it brings her.
Peggy Pugh flips through the pages of her new coloring book. (Talia McWright / Pioneer Press)
Not all women have been fortunate enough to leave environments of chaos, Pugh said. Some live in shelters, protecting themselves and often their children from abuse, and others are without a home.
These women are worthy, Pugh said. They have value and deserve gifts this holiday season, as does anyone, she said. They deserve to enjoy moments of rest, without the constant stressors of the day on their shoulders, and that’s what she hopes her coloring book will do for them: offer a moment of rest and maybe even a moment of healing, she said.
“I think there are people who have never colored in their adulthood, especially if they never colored as kids,” Pugh said. “So if they see something like a coloring book, they think, ‘Oh, no, this is great for children, but this isn’t for adults.”
Rest and color
Her book is called “Rest & Color” because rest is important, Pugh said.
Pugh hopes to donate 100 copies of her coloring book to women in shelter. (Talia McWright / Pioneer Press)
Being raised in an abusive household, Pugh said, she was always trying to prove herself worthy. She became very performance-oriented and, even when she felt something was wrong in her body, she ignored it. She had a stroke at 22.
“God loved me enough to knock me down, but not knock me out,” Pugh said. “There were so many lessons that I learned from that, and that was, nobody’s gonna give you permission to rest. … Rest brings restoration to your mind and your body. Healing happens when you’re restful.”
Pugh said she and her husband, Ken Pugh, have had a lot of conversations about rest this year. Their conversations inspired her to write a book, released in October, titled “Rest Is A Weapon: Winning Spiritual Battles From A Place of Rest.”
For many like her, Pugh said, rest is a discipline until it becomes a delight, and the book is about how to develop the skills to delight in rest.
“I want to be able to lift the spirits of people, of some women,” Pugh said. “I want to be able to let her know that she’s worth it. She’s worth being thought about. She’s worth getting a gift, and she doesn’t have to pay for it, and she doesn’t have to earn it.”
The gift of giving
Inside the coloring book are pages of winter and holiday-themed images like nutcrackers, snowflakes, children sledding, poinsettias, snow globes, snowmen and hot cocoa. Pugh said she was also intentional in including images that represent “Jesus, the reason for the season.”
She also intentionally includes images of Black women, she said. Inside, artists will also find a cartoon image of Pugh herself, and even one with her and her husband, who wears a Santa hat, just for fun.
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“I’m hoping that there are enough individuals out there who would be willing to be selfless, and take $15 that they are going to spend on getting gifts for themselves or for their family, and think about buying a color set to give to a woman,” Pugh said. “The other thing is that I’m hoping that whoever receives this gift, she knows she’s not forgotten.”
One “Rest & Color” book and a set of colored pencils costs $15 and can be purchased directly through Pugh’s website, rrpeggypugh.com. Individual coloring books can also be purchased for $10. In the near future, Pugh plans to release coloring books tailored to men, along with seasonal coloring books and MLK Day and Black History Month-themed coloring books.
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