Anne Kelleher isn't just an amazing writer who knows how to 'tweak' her words so beautifully to her suited audience; she is also a loving and devoted sister to a person who is 'differently abled'. And I so admire her for that.
This week, we are going to be joined by Anne twice. Once for a very brief Q&A and then again for a review of her book How David Met Sarah.
The book is so innocently and purely written so that people of ALL abilities can read, enjoy and understand the story. And that is SUCH a gift. Anne so generously agreed to share a slice of her time with us and I'm going to bring you all in to enjoy it.
Thank you, Anne. For joining us today, for being brave enough to share this story from such a unique and beautiful perspective and for allowing us to get to know David. We should all see the world through his eyes.
Her background in writing. My first novel was published in 1995 by Warner Books, and subsequently I have published 10 other novels with Warner, PenguinPutnam and Harlequin.
Her experiences with folks with special needs. My brother David, was born in 1975 with Down's Syndrome.
Her specific inspiration for this book. He was my specific inspiration, as well as my mother's suggestion that there are few fiction books for people like my brother, who read at lower level, but dont enjoy stories written for children.
Why she chose to tell the story this way rather than memoir-style. It was not my intention to write a memoir. I wanted to write a story - a novel - that my brother could read and enjoy in the same way I have enjoyed novels and short stories all my life. While the broad outlines of my brother's life form the foundation for the story, it is not a recounting of his life. The characters in the story are based on my brother and my parents, and me, too, as a matter of fact, but they are fictional characters and not exactly like the real people at all. For example, David is really 36 but the character is 24.
What the writing process was like. The writing process was just like writing all my other novels and at times, it felt as if I were "translating" - I would write a sentence or paragraph and then distill it down to its simplest and most essential meaning.
What message she wants readers to take away with them. That people who have differences are more similar to average people than different.
Thank you so very much, Anne, for answering a few of our questions. I know how busy you are right now so we totally appreciate the time you took to join us here today. (Don't worry! We're planning to invite her back very soon for a full 'The Gift' interview!) Be sure to tune in with us on Saturday when we'll review her amazing book, How David Met Sarah.
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