Actress Julie Andrews originally turned children's book author to find her voice after a botched throat procedure threatened to end her singing career.

Doctors removed non-cancerous nodules from The Sound of Music star's vocal cords in 1997, but the surgery marred her ability to sing, prompting Andrews to fall into a deep depression.

However, the veteran entertainer's grown up daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, knew just the trick to snap her mum back into action, suggesting she take up writing as a way to connect with fans through a different medium.

The pair then teamed up to write and illustrate children's books, which could be read aloud to the Grammy winner's grandkids, and now Andrews credits the 49 year old with helping her to find happiness again.

She tells People magazine, "I was mourning (the loss of my voice) one day, and Emma said, 'Mummy, you must find a different way of using your voice.' And everything fell into place."

The two have since released 22 tomes.