Out of my mind, Sharon Draper

Can you imagine being trapped in your own head.  You have feelings, thoughts, experiences and you can't share them with anyone.  Melody deals with that every day of her life.  She has Cerebral Palsy and cannot walk, eat, dress herself, or talk....and never will.  When people look at her (when they bother to look), they think she is stupid.  How can she know anything- since she is drooling, moaning, and flailing about.  They can't see that she capable of feelings as complex as our own.  Sharon Draper writes a beautiful tale that is so moving that it will change the way you interact with people in wheelchairs.  Melody shows us that there is more inside them than they can get out.  I promise this book will change your life. 


NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
People often ask me, "What was your inspiration for Out of my Mind?" I reply, "All great stories emerge from deep truths that rest within us." But the real truth of a story often can be found in places that not even the author has dared to explore. I suppose the character of Melody came from my experiences in raising a child with developmental difficulties. But Melody is not my daughter. Melody is pure fiction--a unique little girl who has come into being from a mixture of love and understanding. Out of my Mind is the story of a ten-year-old-girl who cannot walk or talk. She has spirit, determination, intelligence and wit, and no one knows it. But from buildings that are not wheelchair--accessible to classmates who make fun of her she finds a strength within herself she never knew existed.

I was fiercely adamant that nobody feel sorry for Melody. I wanted her to be accepted as a character and as a person, not as a representative for people with disabilities. Melody is a tribute to all the parents of disabled kids who struggle, to all those children who are misunderstood, to all those caregivers who help every step of the way. It's also written for people who look away, who pretend they don't see, or who don't know what to say when they encounter someone who faces life with obvious differences. Just smile and say hello!

--Sharon M. Draper    http://www.amazon.com/Out-My-Mind-Sharon-Draper/dp/141697170X