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.
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. 💛
What a lovely connection to draw between Audrey & Adam and your own experience, Kim - thanks for sharing that. Right Here, Right Now (RHRN) - I have that pinned above my desk. 💛
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.
Awww, thanks Lindsey...that's really high praise. Really appreciate your taking the time to both read and comment. Looking forward to checking out your work!
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.
Me too! I am reveling in the immediacy a platform like Substack provides. Writing has always been a conversation that spans orders like time and geography. This seems a little like a new paradigm for how quickly and deeply the pieces of those conversations can inform each other. so grateful for this introduction to you and your work.
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.
Wow, Rhiannon, a lovely story. Thanks so much for sharing it here. I'm always wanting conversations with my writing adventures, and here you are! May your life with your son be chock-filled with dinosaurs, real and metaphorical.
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
Thank you SO much for this gracefully written response, Leela. I'm really touched. What I always long for as a writer is a conversation, and here it is. Thank you for making my Saturday morning so bright!!!
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!!!
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.
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. 💛
Kim, this is such a beautiful response. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
What a lovely connection to draw between Audrey & Adam and your own experience, Kim - thanks for sharing that. Right Here, Right Now (RHRN) - I have that pinned above my desk. 💛
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.
Awww, thanks Lindsey...that's really high praise. Really appreciate your taking the time to both read and comment. Looking forward to checking out your work!
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!!
I know, I was so touched by that excerpt - Gail and I had talked about her novel but that was the first chance I'd had to read more. Thanks Holly! 💚💙❤
Thank you Holly. So great to read your thoughts. I appreciate conversation more than anything as a writer. Looking forward to connecting again!
Me too! I am reveling in the immediacy a platform like Substack provides. Writing has always been a conversation that spans orders like time and geography. This seems a little like a new paradigm for how quickly and deeply the pieces of those conversations can inform each other. so grateful for this introduction to you and your work.
❤🌈❤
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.
Wow, Rhiannon, a lovely story. Thanks so much for sharing it here. I'm always wanting conversations with my writing adventures, and here you are! May your life with your son be chock-filled with dinosaurs, real and metaphorical.
THAT is a beautiful addendum to this story, Rhiannon - thank you!
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
Thank you SO much for this gracefully written response, Leela. I'm really touched. What I always long for as a writer is a conversation, and here it is. Thank you for making my Saturday morning so bright!!!
Glad you liked it, Leela - Gail will be pleased, I'm sure. Thanks for sharing!
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!!!
This is such beautiful and delicate writing! Definitely a resounding hit for the inaugural QStack guest post.
🙏 Thanks Jude!! So glad Gail gave this piece to share.