You only have to follow me for about a day on Twitter or Facebook to know I am passionate about Autism. It is incredibly personal. Many of you know my son was diagnosed when he was two years old, and we have been living with this condition for the last 11 years. I blog about it. I talk on TV and radio about it. I write about it. I want to live a catlytic life. I want to leverage every challenge, opportunity and situation as an impetus; as a spark plug. To incite curiosity, generosity, compassion – something will be different because I chose to live my life the way I have, and I love to surround myself with people like that. Ginger Scott is such a person. Though her child doesn’t have autism, she has learned a lot through family and friends living with the condition. She was moved by what she learned. And then she moved. She climbed, volitionally, into the trenches with our families.
Her book HOW WE DEAL WITH GRAVITY is amazing. I am under deadline and under self-imposed reading probation, so I am reading very little. But I started hers, and it will blow your mind. It is getting fantastic reviews already! In addition to having an impressive story, she is doing an impressive thing for Autism. I’ll let her tell you about it. I’m honored to have her as my guest today on the blog!
Stalk Ginger Scott:
Watch the Trailer for HOW WE DEAL WITH GRAVITY!
A Little Inside Scoop Behind How We Deal With Gravity
Guest post from author Ginger Scott
Before I start, I have to say what an honor it is to be hosted on Kennedy’s blog. I feel, in many ways, that discovering her was kismet. I’m on Twitter—a lot. More than I probably should be, to be honest. And one day, I came across a ribbon avatar in a stream of tweets I was reading and I just knew. There are ribbons for many causes, but this one was like it was waving a hand at me, however tiny the image was on my phone, and saying, “hey, we have something in common.”
I clicked, followed, messaged and read everything from Kennedy Ryan. She’s a fighter for autism awareness, and her personal story really struck something in my soul. And that’s why I wanted to share this book with her.
How We Deal With Gravity is a love story—and it’s got a heavy dose of steam! But it’s also a story about life with autism. More specifically, what it’s like to be a single parent of a child with autism. This book is precious to me. Yes, of course every book I have written is precious to me, but this one…this one…is different.
My connection to autism is different from Kennedy’s. My son is typical, meaning not on the spectrum. But I have family and several friends who have children on the spectrum. And I am in awe of their strength and resolve. And I wanted to write a story that was a tribute to them; I hope How We Deal With Gravity is just that.
I first came to understand autism as a journalist, writing an in-depth story on the disorder for a major magazine in Arizona. I profiled a family, but what started as an assignment to write something that I knew would be moving and would probably win one of those nifty journalism awards turned into a lifelong passion and a connection to a place here in Arizona that makes a difference in the lives of thousands. I interviewed Denise Resnik, and I met her son Matthew. And while I was amazed at the daily miracles Denise was able to pull of with Matt at home, I was absolutely astonished at the movement she was able to spawn with a small foundation she started in Phoenix called the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC).
This place was a few offices and a library when I first interviewed Denise many years ago. But just being there, experiencing it and talking with those that worked and volunteered there changed me. Since that first story, I have volunteered as a writer for SARRC, and I have watched it grow from a few offices into a building and one of the largest autism organizations in the country. And more than anything, I want to give something to this amazing place. That’s why I am donating my first week of royalties to SARRC. It’s a small start, but I hope to be able to do more in the future.
How We Deal With Gravity is told from two points of view—Avery, a spitfire, single mom to a child with autism; and Mason, the boy who stole her heart in high school and then stomped all over it, leaving her to hate him forever. Mason’s been out of town, trying to make a go of it on the music scene for the last five years. He comes back home a failure and turns to the only person who has ever been able to understand him, Avery’s dad. When Mason and Avery reconnect, they are far from the same people they were in their youth. Avery has learned to battle—every once of her energy devoted to her son, Max. Mason has bottomed out, and he’s starting to doubt every decision he’s ever made. And the more time he spends near Avery, the more he regrets not noticing her sooner.
What unfolds is a story of learning how to love in the face of the impossible and learning how to compromise, even on your dreams. Gravity is also a story of tolerance and understanding of what someone is capable of, despite their differences.
I guess you could say How We Deal With Gravity is big on hope. Hope. It’s an important word to me. It’s one I’ve heard from nearly every parent of a child with autism I’ve ever interviewed, and I’ve learned it’s the fuel that helps people keep on fighting—kind of like love. It just felt right to mix those two together. And I hope readers enjoy the journey.
HOW WE DEAL WITH GRAVITY Spotify Playlist
Mason Street is a musician, my kind of musician. I’m a bit of a sucker for that sexy singer/songwriter type, and when someone can take an old song and make it new—oooph! That really does me in. The music is so integral to Gravity’s story that it’s almost a character of its own. But there are definitely a few songs that found their way to repeat on my playlist, and some that found their way right into the pages of Gravity. You might want to download these for a little read-along music…just sayin’.
- Greg Laswell’s version of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” – I guess you could say Greg sort of inspired a part Mason’s character. His version of Cyndi’s classic is so different, and it tells such a different story. And that’s exactly what Mason does when he sings. (On a side note, Mason is also a little bit Dustin Lynch—I went to a show of his with a few girlfriends while I was writing, and well…Dustin makes quite the impression.)
- “Tenderness” by Otis Redding. This is one of my favorite songs—ever! It sort of became Avery’s anthem throughout the story, and it helped inspire her father’s backstory. Ray Abbot is the sort of guy who probably jammed with Otis once, like it was no big deal. While I’m on the subject of Otis, go ahead and throw “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” on your list, too. It’s a special Mason moment.
- “Wild Horses” by the Stones (and every other cover version ever done). This song has the power to give me goosebumps—just like it does with Avery.
- Johnny Cash “Folsom Prison Blues” and “God’s Gonna Cut You Down.” How do I put this? Johnny Cash had swagger—and so does Mason Street.
- “Strong Enough” by Sheryl Crow, though I encourage you to check out the Haim and Lorde co-cover. It’s gritty and makes it more of an anthem.
- The Lumineers “Hey Ho” – nothing much to say. I love this song, and I listen to it—a lot. It was on this playlist tooJ
- “Stay” by Rhianna. That song is kind of how I think this story feels.
- “Lemon World” by The National. Kind of like the Lumineers, The National tends to find its way onto my playlists. They are haunting, and “Lemon World” is sort of how Mason feels when he first comes home.
- “California” by Jamestown Revival. When Mason first comes to town and enters Ray’s bar, there’s a folk-country band playing. Secretly? It’s totally Jamestown Revival.
- “Robes of a Prophet” by Decker. This band is homegrown—from Sedona, Arizona. I stumbled across them one day, and ate up every single song they’ve ever recorded. I love them, and I used their song in the trailer for the book because their sound fits so damn well.
- “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. There are a few covers of this that I like, too. But Pete still takes the cake. I’ll admit I was deeply affected by John Cusack’s Lloyd Dobler holding the boom box over his head in Say Anything. I’m human, and that was downright romantic!