August 1, 2019
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#CripLit, Amazon, Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, AYSM, Booktopia, CanLit, Caregiving, Chapters Indigo, Disability, Five Years Ago, LoveOzYA, Orca Book Publishers, Penguin Random House, Random House Australia, Road Trip, Twins, YA, YA Fiction, YA Lit, YA Novels
It doesn’t seem right, but it’s the fifth anniversary of Are You Seeing Me? coming into the world.
The little novel about Justine and Perry’s last glorious vacation together was released August 2014 and things would never quite be the same for its grateful author.
It managed to do amazing things, including this.
And this.
And even this.
Perhaps most impressively, it has managed to stick around, still getting read here, still being discussed there.
To celebrate AYSM’s continuing journey, I thought I’d share a little bit of the behind-the-scenes that shaped the novel we know today. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about AYSM.
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August 9, 2015
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Fireproof Garage Podcast
Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, Authors, Autism Fiction, Autism Writing, Books Podcast, Death, Difference, Disability, Fictional Characters, Go Set A Watchman, Harper Lee, Literary Characters, Literary Podcast, Marcus Zusak, Mark Haddon, The Book Thief, The Brothers Groth, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, To Kill A Mockingbird, Writing, Writing Podcast
July 25, 2015
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Navel Gazing
Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, Autism, AYSM, Daughters, Disability, Diversity, Fathers, Journal, Kids, New Release, New YA Lit, Sons, Twins, YA, YA Lit, Young Adults
11.00am, July 21st 2001. In the too-familiar confines of Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital, my daughter is born. Three minutes later, my son follows.
How to properly mark the arrival of my children into the world? What can I do to let them know they are loved from the first second forward?
I will write them a journal. One each. Until their fifth birthdays. It makes sense; I have so few skills, but seeing lives, conjuring thoughts, assembling words – these are my staples.
I write. Moments of hilarity, of poignancy. I fill small pages with tiny details and big imagination. Flickers of a technicolour film in its formative months. I write fast for ten months.
Then I am slow.
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April 30, 2015
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Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, Authors, Autism, Autism Fiction, Autism Writing, AYSM, Booktopia, CBCA, CBCA Notables, CBCA Shortlists, Disability, IBBY, Literary Awards, Novels, NSW Premier's Awards, Penguin Random House, Random House Australia, Shortlists, We Need Diverse Books, YA Lit, Young Adults
2015 is the Aussie awards season for Are You Seeing Me? and, if the first four months is any guide, it’s a year that’s going straight to the pool room.
It started off with a delightful nod from those very fine fans at Booktopia. As an added bonus, they included a faker with the movers and shakers on their annual ‘Australia’s Favourite Novelist‘ poll. Like a qualifier facing Roger Federer at Wimbledon, I was disposed of quickly and efficiently in the first round…But, man, was it good to play Centre Court.
In March came a recognition that is a source of particular pride. The International Board on Books for Young Adults (IBBY) compiled their 2015 list of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities and Are You Seeing Me? was among the 50 chosen. AYSM was one of two successful Australian entries in a worldwide submission involving 159 books and 27 countries and was a part of IBBY’s catalogue that did the rounds at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
Those successes were humbling.
Then came April.
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August 18, 2014
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Navel Gazing
Advice, Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, Autism, Autism Fiction, Autism Writing, AYSM, AYSM Quotes, Books, Difference, Disability, Good Life, New Books, New YA Lit, No Lie, Novels, Perry, Perry Quotes, Perry Richter, Random House Australia, Wisdom, YA Lit, Young Adults
Are You Seeing Me? is on the shelves and the initial response has been terrific. Readers have shared their experiences of laughing and crying and wishing earnestly and thinking differently and, when all was said and done, not wanting to let go.
A major reason for this response has been Perry Richter. The young man with the “brain condition” seems to be touching hearts and souls in a big way. I’m delighted by this – in the character’s simple eloquence and careful observance, there are lessons for all of us, his author included.
So, as both an early thank you to AYSM’s readers and a brief foray into the beautiful mind of a special person, here is Perry’s “No Lie” guide to living a good life in an unstable world:
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July 17, 2014
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Are You Seeing Me?, ASD, Authors, Autism, Autism Fiction, Autism Writing, AYSM, Books, Brothers, Daughters, Disability, Fathers, Fiction, Inspiration, New Books, New Release, New Work, New YA Lit, Random House, Random House Australia, Random House New Zealand, Siblings, Sisters, Sons, Twins, Writing, Writing Books, YA Lit, Young Adults
With Are You Seeing Me? having just hit the shelves in Australia, I’d like to share with you some insight into what inspired me to write the novel.
Anyone who’s spent any time with me knows I am Dad to a set of twins: one girl, one boy. My daughter is ‘neurotypical’, which is how people in the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) community sometimes refer to regular, everyday kids who do not have autism. She is amazing. She plays trumpet, creates short animated films and adores The Hunger Games. My son, who is three minutes younger than my daughter, is diagnosed with autism. He is amazing, too. He is awesome at Minecraft, swims like a champ and enjoys Pixar films. They will officially be teenagers in 2014.
Are You Seeing Me? is a gift to my daughter. She was due a book – my previous novel, Kindling, was a gift to my son. (By the way, all of my books are gifts for my beautiful
wife). When I first started considering what to write, I kept coming back to a message I held dear for my daughter: ‘You should never feel like you must be your brother’s keeper. Love him, as he loves you, but live your own life to the full.’
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July 2, 2014
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Navel Gazing
Aides, ASD, Australia, Australian Education, Autism, Autism Support, BC Teachers Strike, Canada, Canada Day, Canadian Education, Disability, Disability Support, Education, Schooling, Special Needs, Teacher Aides, Teachers
Back in May of 2007, as Term One of our twins’ first and last year of Australian schooling was drawing to a close, we understood the situation:
On Fridays, there would be no teacher-aide support in mainstream class for our autism-diagnosed son. The other four days were fine, but the ’emergency funding’ for the fifth had run out. If we wanted support, we could pay for it ourselves, or we could come to school with him. Of course, we could always keep him at home if we wanted. This was how it would be for the remainder of the year. This was how it would be for the next twelve years.
You can imagine our emotions – anger, disbelief, disillusionment.
It may surprise you to know there was also relief.
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May 28, 2014
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Arguwrite
ASD, Asperger's, Asperger's Syndrome, Aspie, Autism, Elliot Rodger, Media Fail, Santa Barbara Shooting
When I told my 12 year old ASD son that the media’s reporting of the recent Santa Barbara tragedy had spotlighted the killer as having autism, he was angry. He threw his hands up, stomped the floor, cried out in frustration.
“Why would they do that, Dad?” he asked. “Why would they make it seem as if autism can cause mass murder? As if someone like me could take the lives of other human beings?”
“I don’t know, son,” I replied.
“Do they realize they’re hurting lots of ASD people who’ve done nothing wrong? Do they understand they’re making innocent people suffer?”
“I don’t know, son.”
“And it’s no use apologizing later. Once you’ve said it, it’s out there. You can’t take it back.”
“I know, son.”
There was great truth in my boy’s words…If only they were his words.
None of this conversation, in fact, happened.
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February 9, 2013
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Navel Gazing
ASD, Autism, Autism Fiction, Autism Spectrum, Autism Writing, Children, Dick Hoyt, Disability, Disabled Child, Fatherhood, Fireflies, Inspiration, Kindling, Parenthood, Rick Hoyt, Team Hoyt
(Pic Source: luxirare.com)
The inspirational tale of Team Hoyt came past me again recently. For those disinclined to click the link, it shares the incredible story of father, Dick, disabled son, Rick, and the thousand plus marathons / triathlons they have performed as one, dad towing and wheeling and pushing his paralyzed boy all the way. Their thirty-five year odyssey is replete with details to make the heart swell and the eyes tear up, but this one provided particular pause for me:
With $5,000 in 1972 and a skilled group of engineers at Tufts University, an interactive computer was built for Rick. This computer consisted of a cursor being used to highlight every letter of the alphabet. Once the letter Rick wanted was highlighted, he was able to select it by just a simple tap with his head against a head piece attached to his wheelchair. When the computer was originally first brought home, Rick surprised everyone with his first words. Instead of saying, “Hi, Mom,” or “Hi, Dad,” Rick’s first “spoken” words were: “Go, Bruins!” The Boston Bruins were in the Stanley Cup finals that season. It was clear from that moment on, that Rick loved sports and followed the game just like anyone else.
That pivotal moment of communication breakthrough must have been like a glorious dawn; the perennial night finally receding as the sun climbs over the horizon, never to set again on the Hoyt family. I can only imagine how good it felt to see that light.
I can only imagine.
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