Kyra had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Shannon Des Roches Rosa, Contributing Editor at BlogHer, about the book.  Here’s an excerpt of their conversation, with the full interview available at BlogHer.

Where did you get the idea for Gravity Pulls You In? Why did you think it was needed?

I was feeling isolated in my parenting journey. It wasn’t like those of the moms around me. I felt marginalized, left out of the conversation. I struggled to find community, real life community.

At the time, the books I found were either ‘cure’ books, ‘how to’ books or ‘cup of comfort’ books and even though I found value in them, I longed for something more universal.

Autism encompasses such a wide range of traits, experiences, and attitudes — are you pleased with the way Gravity Pulls You In portrays the autism spectrum’s complexity and depth? Did any key perspectives elude you?

There are thirty-two voices in Gravity and 300 million in this country. I’m quite sure we’ve missed many perspectives.

I will just speak for myself here and say that I am incredibly lucky to afford being home with my son, to afford therapies that aren’t covered by our insurance, to afford mats and big yoga balls, to be able to screw giant hooks into the ceiling of our living room so my son can swing inside on a rainy day. I would want to hear from parents who are facing a whole set of challenges that create pressures and choices I cannot even begin to imagine, including cultural perspectives and biases that may not even recognize Autism as the neurological condition it is.

Did any of your authors reveal a side of autism you’d never before encountered?

I think it’s less about not encountering a side of autism and more about being immersed at a particular place in the journey depending on your own child and lifestyle. I’m not an autism expert. I really only know what I can gather from my life here at Fluffy Central, from the kids we’ve met and the ones I’ve gotten to know by reading many wonderful blogs.

The spectrum is so wide, encompassing many expressions. There are countless views I’ve not encountered. I must say though, I was fascinated by the stories of teenagers and young adults, as if I was peering down the corridor to my son’s possible future.

Again, read the entire interview here!