Anne Kelleher is sixteen years older than her brother, and is the author of 11 previously published novels in addition to How David Met Sarah. Anne holds a degree from Johns Hopkins University and has studied English literature at the University of Connecticut. A gifted intuitive medium, Anne helps others connect to inner guidance and deceased loved ones. The mother of four and grandmother of two, Anne lives and writes in Connecticut, surrounded by a large circle of family and friends.
And now, something about her latest book...
Reading specialists, special education teachers and librarians agree that there are no other titles like this available. How David Met Sarah, the first in a series of five books written for intellectually or developmentally disabled individuals, uses vocabulary appropriate for a third-grade reading level. David is a young man who works in a mailroom and lives at home with his parents. When a young woman named Sarah moves to his neighborhood and begins to attend his church, David believes she’s the girl of his dreams. First, however, he has to figure out to meet her.
David’s carefully structured world seems to contain all sorts of roadblocks, but David is determined to get to know the girl with the long red hair. Through a series of adventures (and a few misadventures) that illustrate the challenges and rewards of life as a differently-abled person, David indeed gets his wish at the end of this first installment in the series: David and Sarah are well on their way to becoming good friends.
And What Anne has to say about it...
How David Met Sarah is totally different from any of my other previously published eleven novels. I wrote the story for my 36 year old brother who has Down Syndrome. He reads at a third grade level but doesn't enjoy stories for third graders. How David Met Sarah is both content and reading level appropriate for someone with my brother's limited reading skills. However, what has truly delighted me is the way the story offers insights into the world of the developmentally disabled to the average-level reader.
I was inspired to write the story because I wanted my brother to have the experience of something that has always been an important part of my life: a good story well told. In order that my brother identify with the main character, I used the broad outlines of my brother's life as the starting point: like the main character David, the real David does work in a mailroom, he lives at home with my parents, and he did fall in love with a girl with long beautiful hair.
As a writer, what was interesting to me was that the story and its sequels are no easier to write than any of my other novels. Initially I had no plan to share the story with anyone other than my brother. When I shared it on a whim with a critique group, because I had nothing else to bring, I was amazed by the positive response. My brother loves his story. We both hope everyone else will, too.
That is fascinating, Anne.
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