Gail! What a touching and beautiful (and realistic!) moment to have chosen for this excerpt - the love and wish to protect her child comes through so poignantly, and Audrey feels like a real person to me just in this snippet. So honored to have you lead the way with Qstack guest posts - and CONGRATULATIONS on launching your own and Hotch Potch's newsletters!!!
Apr 6Liked by Gail Marlene Schwartz, Mr. Troy Ford
Oh! Captivating. It did what I love writing to do, made me forget everything except the words on the page, leave behind my agenda, my plans, the need to call United and talk about frequent flier miles. Just the story. Just Adam and Denise and an unwanted crush on a girl with a boyfriend and the soft space of two languages with two personalities. <3
Apr 6Liked by Gail Marlene Schwartz, Mr. Troy Ford
I felt this with my chest. My toddler son was unable to say anything at all for the longest time, and just as we started to reach out to get help and start speech therapy, he pointed to a toy he wanted on the windowsill; when I didn't get it right away for him and instead asked what he was pointing at, he said, clear as day: "dinosaur!" Cue happiness, tears, laughter, massive cuddles that he instantly tried to squirm out from, and, of course, lots of dinosaurs. I have no idea why he chose a three-syllable word after previously only managing "re" (red), "geh" (green) and similar not-quite-there words, but I guess he must love dinosaurs so much he put all his effort in that direction. Reading this brought back the feeling of that moment.
Apr 8Liked by Gail Marlene Schwartz, Mr. Troy Ford
Extraordinary. Audrey’s voice is so honest in its questioning. I can feel her longing to land, but the glittering allure of something outside that landing. And Adam’s grounding force, not questioning anything at all. Reminds me so much of my step-daughter and how her intellectual disability always lands her in the moment, while my husband and I spin senselessness around her. She must think us mad sometimes as we try to figure it all out, when the answer is always, certainly, right where we are. 💛
Apr 8Liked by Gail Marlene Schwartz, Mr. Troy Ford
Loved this, Gail. The way you capture the emotional state for inconvenient crushes — enthralling, exciting, yet devastating. Ugh - perfection! And congrats, Mr. Troy on the first edition! So excited for you and this work.
Thank you, Gail. 've been spending more and more time with my neurodiverse great nephew and am coming to appreciate in a whole new way what incredible patience, hope, and love are necessary for parents who have special needs children. Thanks for sharing this story.
Gail, Troy, thank you! What a gorgeous piece. Like the hands in the bathtub of Audrey’s childhood and the same hands nurturing Adam and loving Denise and the 13-, 23-, and 30-year-old with a crush, I was ushered far and wide. And now, of course, Falling Through the Night is on my reading list.
Gail! What a touching and beautiful (and realistic!) moment to have chosen for this excerpt - the love and wish to protect her child comes through so poignantly, and Audrey feels like a real person to me just in this snippet. So honored to have you lead the way with Qstack guest posts - and CONGRATULATIONS on launching your own and Hotch Potch's newsletters!!!
Oh! Captivating. It did what I love writing to do, made me forget everything except the words on the page, leave behind my agenda, my plans, the need to call United and talk about frequent flier miles. Just the story. Just Adam and Denise and an unwanted crush on a girl with a boyfriend and the soft space of two languages with two personalities. <3
I felt this with my chest. My toddler son was unable to say anything at all for the longest time, and just as we started to reach out to get help and start speech therapy, he pointed to a toy he wanted on the windowsill; when I didn't get it right away for him and instead asked what he was pointing at, he said, clear as day: "dinosaur!" Cue happiness, tears, laughter, massive cuddles that he instantly tried to squirm out from, and, of course, lots of dinosaurs. I have no idea why he chose a three-syllable word after previously only managing "re" (red), "geh" (green) and similar not-quite-there words, but I guess he must love dinosaurs so much he put all his effort in that direction. Reading this brought back the feeling of that moment.
Extraordinary. Audrey’s voice is so honest in its questioning. I can feel her longing to land, but the glittering allure of something outside that landing. And Adam’s grounding force, not questioning anything at all. Reminds me so much of my step-daughter and how her intellectual disability always lands her in the moment, while my husband and I spin senselessness around her. She must think us mad sometimes as we try to figure it all out, when the answer is always, certainly, right where we are. 💛
Loved this, Gail. The way you capture the emotional state for inconvenient crushes — enthralling, exciting, yet devastating. Ugh - perfection! And congrats, Mr. Troy on the first edition! So excited for you and this work.
This is such beautiful and delicate writing! Definitely a resounding hit for the inaugural QStack guest post.
Thank you, Gail. 've been spending more and more time with my neurodiverse great nephew and am coming to appreciate in a whole new way what incredible patience, hope, and love are necessary for parents who have special needs children. Thanks for sharing this story.
Gail, Troy, thank you! What a gorgeous piece. Like the hands in the bathtub of Audrey’s childhood and the same hands nurturing Adam and loving Denise and the 13-, 23-, and 30-year-old with a crush, I was ushered far and wide. And now, of course, Falling Through the Night is on my reading list.
Congratulations on a wonderful launch, QStack!!
❤🌈❤