Maria Shriver Says That 15 Years After Her Mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver's Death, 'I Still Talk to Her All the Time' (Exclusive)

More than 15 years after the death of her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Maria Shriver continues to feel her presence.

“I still talk to my mother all the time,” Maria shares with PEOPLE in an exclusive new interview. “I seek out her advice and often I can hear her voice. I think she would just be really proud of me. I really hope she’s proud of me. I’ve always wanted to make her proud.”

Maria writes lovingly about her mother in her new book of poetry, I Am Maria, reflecting on the bond they shared and how it shaped who she is today.

“She loved all my books,” Maria notes. “She always went to the bookstores and moved my books to the front so that people could see them and buy them. She would often talk to the bookstore sellers, telling them she’s my mother and that they should prioritize my books. I’m going to miss her doing that for this book.”

Related: Maria Shriver on Surviving Divorce and Finding Herself: 'It Was Brutal, and I Was Terrified' (Exclusive Book Excerpt)

Eunice died on Aug. 10, 2009, just two weeks before the death of her youngest brother, Edward “Ted” Kennedy. She was 88.

“I can hear her now: 'Have you bought Maria’s new book? Did you know she’s a poet now? Do you want her book? Wait, I’ll give you one if you promise to go buy one too,’ ” Maria tells PEOPLE. “She was my biggest supporter, my biggest motivator. She was a force and she would also push me to do things I didn’t think I could do.”

That motivational spirit served Eunice — the fifth of nine children in the illustrious Kennedy family — in the impressive philanthropic work she did throughout her life.

In 1962, Eunice founded Camp Shriver, a summer day camp at her Maryland farm, where children and adults with intellectual disabilities could participate in sports and other physical challenges. From that came the idea for the Special Olympics, which she founded in 1968.

Related: The Kennedy Family Tree: A Who's Who Guide to the Famous Political Family

Today, the Special Olympics provides training and activities to more than 5 million participants in 172 countries. It’s the largest sporting organization for people with intellectual disabilities in the world, and it was all inspired by Eunice’s love for her family.

Eunice's older sister, Rosemary Kennedy, was born with intellectual disabilities, and their father, Joseph Kennedy Sr., had her institutionalized at age 23. When Joe Sr. suffered a stroke in 1961, the truth about Rosemary was revealed to the rest of the family: a botched lobotomy had left her wheelchair-bound with limited speech.

Filled with pain and anger at the way her sister had been treated, Eunice did her best to channel it for good. She regularly brought Rosemary to visit the Shriver family home — installing accessible equipment to help her get around — and founded the Special Olympics to help others who faced similar challenges.

Related: Inside Rosemary Kennedy's Bond with Eunice Shriver, Who 'Had a lot of Pain' Over Sister's Treatment

"She had this extraordinary capacity to turn her anger into positive action," Tim Shriver Sr., Eunice's son, told PEOPLE in 2021, as the family marked what would have been her 100th birthday. "She could always draw on the sure conviction that Rosemary was a person who deserved the dignity, joy and opportunity that anyone else deserved."

"A lot of people think of the Special Olympics as 'nice,' " agreed Eunice’s granddaughter, Kathleen Shriver, who formed the Special Olympics Founders Council with five of her cousins. "What my grandma was fighting for wasn't a movement about being sweet — it was about changing society."

Related: Meet Eunice Kennedy Shriver's Grandkids, Who Are on a Mission to Carry Her Special Olympics Torch

For Maria, her mother’s legacy and love lives on through every member of the Kennedy-Shriver family.

“I think she would love that I’m a grandmother,” she now reflects. “She loved being a grandmother — she was a different grandmother than she was as a mother. I think she would be so happy for me and she would love my grandkids.”

Maria’s eldest child, Katherine Schwarzenegger — whose middle name is “Eunice” — was just 19 when her grandmother died. Maria tells PEOPLE that Eunice would be “so fascinated” by what all of her grandchildren are up to, but in particular would be “so proud” of Katherine as a wife and mother of three with husband Chris Pratt.

“She would marvel at her,” she praises.

Related: Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger To Be Special Olympics Ambassadors: 'Humbled and Honored'

For Maria, watching her kids grow up and becoming a grandmother has opened a brand new chapter in her life.

“Everything about [it] is great. Watching my kids find their path, find their partners, find their passion, sitting with them, talking with them, learning from them, laughing with them, traveling with them — I really enjoy them more than anyone in the world,” she shares.

“And my grandchildren have made me remember how to play again, how to be silly again, how to be creative again,” she continues. “We love to go to the park. We love to play pranks on people. We love to play games. I feel so blessed that I’m alive and I get to watch my kids grow up and watch and meet my grandchildren.”

I Am Maria will be published on April 1 and is now available for preorder wherever books are sold.

Read the original article on People