Mother's tale of autistic son published as part of Mayborn series
See Sam Run: A Mother's Story of Autism – a poignant memoir about the experience of raising an autistic child – is available to buy.
Author Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, a journalist and 2002 graduate of the Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism, won the manuscript competition and a provisional publishing contract with UNT Press in 2005 at the first conference.
The book will be formally introduced at the fourth annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference of the Southwest July 18-20.
A touching story
"Peggy's story of life with her young son Sam, and the growing realization that he has autism, resonates with any parent and will speak especially to those parents who have children with special needs," says Ron Chrisman, director of the UNT Press.
See Sam Run follows the pain and frustration Heinkel-Wolfe and her late husband, Mark, experienced as their son became uncommunicative and unmanageable. Heinkel-Wolfe says she wrote the book to help other parents of children with autism, or other challenges, and to help professionals understand what parents go through.
"I'd grown to hate making entries in his baby book," she wrote in the book. "The energy I had before he was born, when I wrote paragraphs anticipating his arrival, was gone..."
Writing was cathartic
Heinkel-Wolfe said the process of writing the book was sometimes therapeutic.
"Our lives had been chaos," Heinkel-Wolfe says. "The process of deciding what to write about helped make some sense of what happened. I may not have made all the best choices back then, but every day began with love and that helped me accept some of the mistakes I made."
"This is a book written from the heart by a mother nearly driven to madness by her son's maniacal behavior. But she slowly learns how to pay attention to what makes Sam tick, what makes Sam run. Many parents will find themselves hooked," says George Getschow, Mayborn Conference writer-in-residence and editor of See Sam Run.
"It's really about what it means to be a parent," added Heinkel-Wolfe. "I hope my book is universal in that way."
Where you can buy the book
UNT faculty, staff, students and alumni may purchase the book at the UNT Press in Bain Hall for a 25 percent discount off the list price. You can also buy the book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Heinkel-Wolfe's book is the second volume in the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Series. The first, published in 2007, is William and Rosalie: A Holocaust Testimony, written by William and Rosalie Schiff and Dallas writer Craig Hanley.
Learn about autism
Autism is a brain disorder of unknown origin that begins to manifest in early childhood and affects communication, social interaction and creative play. An estimated one in 150 children develops autism.
Research shows that almost half of children with autism who participate in early, intensive behavioral intervention (30 to 40 hours of weekly therapeutic interaction for two or three years between the ages of 3 and 5) become indistinguishable from other children and go on to live relatively normal lives without support or with minimal support.
UNT is home to the first graduate training program accredited by the Association of Behavior Analysis. UNT's Family Connections Project helps enhance the quality of relationships within North Texas area families who have children with autism.
Learn more about how UNT is a pioneer in the field of autism intervention.
