Book about disabilities- Interview with Special Stories author Mike Kelly- PART 1
Book about disabilities- Interview with Special Stories author Mike Kelly. This two-part interview was conducted by Courtney Williams from Disability Life. Part One is below.
PART ONE
CW— FIRST OFF, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BOOK. I READ IT AND ENJOYED IT. YOU HAD ME LAUGHING, CRYING, THINKING—A BUNCH OF EMOTIONS. WELL DONE.
MK— Thank you. I appreciate the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it.
CW— FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T READ YOUR BOOK, HOW DID YOU GET INTO WORKING WITH KIDS WITH DISABILITIES AND WHAT WORK DID YOU DO BEFORE THAT?
MK— Well, I worked in public relations in the corporate world for about ten years. The first few years I really enjoyed my work. I was learning new things, got to travel, work with a lot of great people, plus, I was paid well. After about five years I just felt this calling to do something more personally meaningful with my life. No disrespect to the PR profession, of course. I began rolling around the idea of working with kids, in some capacity, and being a role model-slash-mentor. But when you’re making good money and you need X amount of dollars coming in each month to pay the bills, it’s hard to just walk away from that and do something for a lot less money. So, I hung on for a few more years. Though my wallet was full, my heart had become empty. I knew I had to make a career change.
CW— WHAT DID YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THINK ABOUT YOUR DECISION TO JUMP SHIP?
Those closest people to me understood why I needed to, but others were bewildered and doubted my sanity. Why would anyone in his right mind and in mid-career make a complete career change, while taking a reduction in pay to do so? I can’t blame them for thinking that. It’s a natural reaction, you know? At times, I wondered myself if I was making the right decision.
CW— SO, YOUR WIFE WAS ON BOARD?
Absolutely. My wife was completely supportive of my decision to make that change. Because she was very successful working in her own career, she afforded me the opportunity to make that switch. Less pay coming in that we had to deal with, but we adjusted and made it work, thanks to my wife’s career.
CW— WAS THERE SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY THAT GOT YOU WORKING WITH KIDS WITH DISABILITIES?
MK— I grew up with a dad who had some problems and wasn’t interested in spending any time with me. It was a horrible feeling and a big hole in my heart as a kid. I remember longing for someone to help teach me about life, answer the many questions I had, and act as a guidepost to success. I had some challenges as a kid, but back then—in Catholic school—you got a smack on the head and were told to pay better attention. I needed help. I had older siblings, but I wasn’t close to them growing up. They were living their own lives and had little to no interest in me. I rarely saw them. I was close to my mother, but she spent a good deal of her time and energy directed at my father’s problems. I guess the seed was planted back then that when I got older I could fill this hole I felt as a kid. To be that positive male role model to a child. Someone who’s present and engaged.
When I was ready to change careers, I met someone who owned a nonprofit company that served kids with disabilities. I thought, this was my opportunity to help kids. And the added bonus was that I’d have the chance to help kids with all kinds of disabilities. How cool was that? I met the owners of the company and we hit it off. Without any experience working with kids, I was hired on the spot and started in my new career a few weeks later.
CW— WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO WRITE AND PUBLISH A BOOK ON YOUR EXPERIENCES?
MK— It’s interesting. While there are books written on how to raise or teach a child with autism and children’s books featuring a single character with a disability, there were zero books featuring numerous kids or adults with all different types of disabilities all in one book. That’s incredible, isn’t it? Think about that for a second. Not even a single book!
CW— THAT IS INCREDIBLE.
MK— After looking into the matter to find out why, the universal response from several publishing industry insiders was: “We don’t publish books like that.”
End of story.
So, it’s pretty simple why I wrote Special Stories and brought it to life by publishing it. I felt it was time for the untold stories of individuals with disabilities to finally be shared to help inspire others think outside the box and reach for the stars. To think that the publishing industry finds the millions of different individuals with disabilities a disinteresting demographic is sad and, quite frankly, disturbing.
CW— BEFORE THE INTERVIEW I TRIED TO FIND OTHER BOOKS LIKE YOURS THAT TELL THE STORIES OF EITHER KIDS OR ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES, AND I COULD NOT FIND ANY. YOU’RE RIGHT. THAT IS SAD.
MK— I agree. I feel like just by me writing the book, it provides validation to kids with disabilities everywhere that they do live interesting lives and they do have compelling stories to tell and that their stories are worthy of being told. Unlike the traditional publishing, I do publish books like that! (Laughs)
CW— HOW LONG DID THE BOOK TAKE YOU TO WRITE—ALL IN?
MK— Oh, wow! (Laughs) I actually kept track . . . A few months back I totaled up the hours. Believe it or not, more than eleven thousand hours over the course of thirteen years. Add to that a few hundred extra hours over the last few months—with me writing releases, making last minute edits, coordinating the printings and e-book material with the book printer, reaching out to people and organizations to generate interest, doing interviews such as this, handling and managing orders, working on the website and blog and marketing materials, and a dozen other things. So, yeah, I’m closing in on twelve thousand hours.
CW— THAT’S A LOT OF TIME!
MK— It is. But for me to be able to breathe life into the book, it has been worth every second. Over the years many people have told me they have ideas for books and want to write one, yet few have followed through to actually make it happen. Easier said than done. Though it took a lot of time and effort to do, I accomplished the goal of both writing and publishing the book. And now to see the stories I experienced with my students in print, it’s an enormously rewarding feeling. But I joke with my wife that I’d need to sell about a hundred thousand copies just to be able to break even for all the time I spent creating it.
End of Part 1. Part 2 continued…
To learn about the new book “Special Stories: Short Stories On Youth With Disabilities And My Adventures Working In The Disabilities Field” by Mike Kelly (2017, Vendue Books) visit www.specialstoriesbook.com.
