Story Up at Spoonie Magazine!

/ stephanielharper

Matthew, age 10, at the gymnastics 2009 Oregon state championship competition. Still wearing his high-bar grips after completing his first-place routine, he smiles for a photo.

I’m more grateful than I can express to editor Sara Watkins of Spoonie Press (home to the annual online and print publication, Spoonie Journal, and the weekly online Spoonie Magazine) for helping me share my story about raising my gorgeous, extraordinary son, Matthew: To Be the One to Say, “Yes!”

If you’ve followed my work even for a short while, you’ll be acquainted with my poetic accounts of Matthew’s autism. I had to dig deep for this longer-form prose piece. Let me know your impressions and feel free to share a link to this story with anyone out there who you believe could benefit from our experience — your engagement means the world to me!

Matthew, age 21, sits on the curb of a hotel parking lot in Indianapolis. He is cross-legged with his camera strap slung over his left shoulder, as he peers intently into a gray sky, ready for an approaching thunderstorm..

11 thoughts on “Story Up at Spoonie Magazine!”

  4. Pingback: Story Up at Spoonie Magazine! | O at the Edges

  5. Stephanie, this was incredibly enlightening as well as moving. I’m so glad they published it. I found it especially powerful when you spoke of the myopic way everyone focused on Matthew’s ability “to perform socially acceptable behavior” rather than giving him the means to hold a conversation with himself, that “inner stranger”. That completely blew my mind. Congratulations and thank you!

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