Category Archives: Books

Blogging for a Mission 22

Books, Bully Free, Differences, Family • Tags: , ,

I have been reading others’ posts about the reason they started blogging.  Blogging is not without risks since it involves sharing with the world.  The risks for my family are even greater because a few years ago my daughter was targeted by people she knew shortly after she was diagnosed.

That is when my mission started.  I quit work, I read every book on sensory sensitivity and Asperger’s that I could find.  I bought books on bullying that I read cover to cover, and I talked to the local contact at BullyPolice.org.  I explored the local bookstores to see what tween girls were reading.  I set my TiVo wish list to include autism, bullying, and Asperger’s Syndrome.  I attended conferences and I googled and read more.

Next, I wrote our true story, and then reality hit me like a ton of bricks.  I couldn’t use our story!  The story had to be fiction to protect my daughter and to protect those who harmed her too ironically.  Still, I did not want to trivialize the facts, so it is fiction with all events and all characters changed to protect the innocent and not so innocent.   The feelings from the misunderstandings, the love shared between the characters, and the effects of the bullying are real.

I will never knowingly do anything to hurt my family or anyone else for that matter.  Yet, I ultimately want this story disseminated to more people; therefore, my publisher suggested that I start a blog.  Previously, public forums were off-limits to me.  However, getting the message out that the world needs to change to a place of tolerance of differences and hopefully to acceptance of differences is my mission.  The question of how to do this while remaining anonymous came up from the day I took on this task.  Not an easy thing to do in this age of technology as I am sure many of you know.

Ultimately, my daughter agreed to my writing a blog, as long as I am careful about sharing too many personal stories about her.  She and I have come to the decision that it is not possible to remain completely anonymous and promote the message.  Still, I am very protective of her and of the rest of my family, and I will not apologize for this.  If this makes me appear untrustworthy to some, so be it.  If including information about my book, written to promote this message, makes others think this blog is just about self promotion, so be it.

Blogging has brought me to even more information and greater understanding, as I have read many of your thoughts and stories and I have commented on some.  Many of you have welcomed me into this blogging community, and I am so grateful to you.  I hope you know who you are even if I do not always comment on your blogs.  Others are not as welcoming to those they consider to be outsiders, but I cannot waste time worrying about them.

I have made a decision.  I will no longer allow other people to define who I am or who my daughter is.  I am her mother and she is my amazing, talented, brave daughter who I will fight to the death to protect.  I will do the same for my son, my husband, my close friends, and all of my family.

How about you?  What steps do you take to protect your family?  What would you do if someone targeted your loved one?

Silence Is Not Always Golden 2

Books, Bullying, Bystanders, Differences, Uncategorized • Tags: ,

I know many of my friends and loved ones believe “Silence Is Golden.”  However, for those of us who are striving to promote understanding, tolerance, and acceptance for our loved ones, your silence really isn’t golden.  It is not golden if you witness bullying either. Bystanders have to learn the importance of speaking up and they need to be rewarded for doing so.

Changing the world to place where all humans are equally valuable and where people honor and respect differences is my mission. That is why I wrote Delightfully Different.

It is my first novel, so frankly I was not sure I could write it.  I know I couldn’t have done it justice without help.  I was fortunate to have multiple people who came forward to offer advice during the writing process.  One was a dear friend who is a free-lance editor.  I thank her by name in the book, but I won’t name her on the Internet for she’s modest.  I even had multiple people read drafts of my book along the way.  I was fortunate to have two local authors who gave me insights about their adventures in writing and publishing too.  When I explained that I knew I needed an editor, and that I was thinking about self-publishing, they recommended iUniverse.

I want to also clear the air regarding any concerns you may have about my children or even about my extended family.  My daughter’s story inspired the novel, but it is not a true story. The true story would have you crying so hard you would need a box of tissues.

There may be parts of the book that make you cry, but the story is only sad due to misunderstandings, the bullying and normal life events. The bullying is not as severe as the real bullying my daughter experienced. All of the characters good, bad, and indifferent exist only in my imagination. My children both supported my endeavor.  They both also know the importance of understanding and tolerance of others, and I’m very proud of them for this.

I long to hear your thoughts about my posts, about my novel, and about my campaign to change the world to a place that is free of bullies. Therefore, I welcome your comments, your e-mail subscriptions, your following my blog, your liking my Facebook page, your following me on Twitter or any other way you are comfortable showing your support of this endeavor.

Mahalo,

D. S. Walker

Excerpt From the Novel

Autism Spectrum, Books • Tags: ,

Delightfully Different Book CoverBelow is an excerpt from Delightfully Different. Several people wrote books about kids on the Autism Spectrum having spiritual gifts, and they do seem to know things well beyond what their age and “limitations” would allow. Some parents believe that their children chose them which is why I chose to have Mia start out as a spirit watching her mother from heaven. This also allowed family history to be included in her story which I felt was important, as girls are frequently not diagnosed until they are older because their symptoms are more subtle like Mia’s.

I was with Mom before I was born. I watched her from heaven for years waiting for her to have a child so I could be born.
I first learned about Mom when she was only twelve years old. She had many losses in her life that year, including her Grandma Laura. When Great-Grandma Laura died, she and I became friends. She told me how Francesca was such a sweet girl that she hated to leave her. She said she knew that Francesca was special the day she met her as a newborn baby. The two of them had a special bond. Great-Grandma Laura learned I would get to choose my mother. She begged me to observe Francesca for a time to decide if she should be my mother.
So unbeknownst to my future mother, I studied her from heaven. Great-Grandma was right; she was special. She had flyaway, silky, copper-colored hair and beautiful green eyes that lit up when she smiled. I observed how much she loved all of her family and her pets. …
I did want to be her daughter. 




Turning Anger to Forgiveness and Action 1

Books, Bullying, Famous Quotes, Forgiveness, Writing • Tags: , , , ,
From 1963 Speech of Martin Luther King, Jr.

From 1963 Speech of Martin Luther King, Jr.

I started writing Delightfully Different to teach tolerance of differences, yet at the time I was angry not forgiving. A group of mean girls wounded someone whom I love dearly. The books for middle school girls were about being mean to be popular, and the other mothers were reading Queen Bees and Wannabes. I learned some even were okay with their daughter acting like the queen bee. I don’t believe that was what the author of the book intended still that is what happened.

I decided that I had to change this somehow. I started by educating the school as to how things affected my loved one and how they could help. They did help, but I also realized the root of the problem was not the school. The root of the problem was lack of understanding of differences, and that meanness is not okay. I decided I had to do something which is how the book was born.

A good friend saw how angry I was and suggested that I try writing from a place of love not anger, and she was totally right to suggest this. She also advised me that even if I never sold the book that writing would be therapeutic, and again she was right. Still I refused to stop there, as from day one I kept telling people about my idea, and that I was going to write a book to teach tolerance in our schools.

Another friend told me that if I was serious, that I needed to get the book on Oprah, because some schools chose their required reading books from Oprah’s book club. I did my research and learned that at least some of the books used are on Oprah’s list; therefore, my ultimate goal for this book is to somehow get it be to be one of the books in Oprah’s book club. I know the kids who need to read it most will then read it, hence I e-mailed Oprah yesterday through her magazine web site. Now we wait and I ask all of you to pray that she somehow sees the e-mail and agrees to help.

Mahalo,

D. S. Walker