"...Autism cannot wait until April to be discussed"

Remember Eileen and Kim? They created the book: "The Girl Who Spoke with Pictures: Autism Through Art". They'd like you and I to be able to get our hands on a copy - in a bookstore. Unfortunately, bookstores don't have it. It is on Amazon, but that doesn't help people who'd like to see inside the book before purchasing. Eileen, Kim's mom, sent me a letter this morning. I thought I'd share it with you. Maybe if we all inquired about the book at our local bookstores, we'd be able to get bookstores to have a copy in stock. (I bolded certain phrases for you)

Good morning Lisa,

Kim and I thought it would be fun to go to a couple of bookstores (60 miles from our area) to scout out our book on the shelf. Much to our surprise, we could not find the title. We weren't expecting numerous copies, but it would have been nice to see just one. We went to the front desk to inquire. We were told that this particular book store does "carry" the book, but does not keep it in stock in their store. I asked if they would ever have it on the shelf, to which they replied, "no." I went to subsequent bookstores in this area and found that there were no books on the shelf, but they were "happy to order it." When I arrived home, I went online to check stores on west coast/east coast and found that the only stores that had our book in stock, were the bookstores that I had contacted in person weeks prior to publication.

I want your readers to know that if they want to buy our book in a bookstore, they will have to ask for it to order it.

I have contacted news organizations all over our state to make people aware of the existence of our book. We have heard nothing. (Many organizations, news and bookstores in the past have expressed that they want to wait until April which is Autism Awareness month.)

Plan of action: Kim and I have decided to take this directly to the people. We are going to go out into our state's community and meet with people to introduce ourselves and our book. Of course, we are going to do this in a creative and unorthodox way, but ever since Kim was born, my life has been extraordinary.

Our Mission: We want to kindly ask bookstores everywhere to carry a "sample copy", ONE COPY, on their shelf, so that customers can peruse to see if they would like to place an order. Our book is our voice, if our book is in a warehouse, it is not being heard. To let people of the community and news media know that autism cannot wait until April to be discussed. Parents and individuals with autism live with incredible challenges and experience victories every day, not just to be recognized during that certain month. If it takes just one person at a time, one handshake at a time, one community at a time, we are willing to be proactive to introduce ourselves. How can people request or order a book that might be helpful, if they have never heard about it? How can "The Girl Speak With Pictures" when her artwork is not seen? Her art is so unique, the context in which it occurs adds richness to her communication, it requires explanation.

Remember, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." author unknown

We want to start a bonfire!

Eileen Miller

Eileen and Kim have some "unorthodox" plans to accomplish their goals. I cannot wait to hear about their experiences. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime you can look at the book on Amazon and you can request to see a copy at your local bookstore.

You can read more about the Kim and Eileen here, and here. You can also visit their website.