The Shape of Normal

: AN UPDATE!

When I was five years old, I received a birthday gift I had been begging for all year. The time came to open presents and the moment I lifted that sparkly red costume from the box and saw the matching white boots, nothing else mattered. I grabbed my gift, ran into the house, and pranced around in that outfit for the rest of the day. Sixty years later, it’s how I felt when I received an endorsement from Jacquelyn Mitchard!...

Dear Subscribers,

It’s been a while since I sent my last newsletter, but I’ve been busy with edits on my book! This morning, I was thinking about this journey and thought I’d give you a bit of history before I share my latest.

In the spring of 2000, I sat at the computer in my empty classroom. Instead of typing in grades, I wrote another anecdote about Jessica. I had a vision that one day I’d write a book, recalling all the mishaps and episodes I’d had to deal with over the last fifteen years. The words came to me quickly — “Jessica peed on the floor in the middle of a department store” — and over the next ten minutes, the story grew. I read it to Betty, a fellow kindergarten teacher. She listened to me, about the fears I had about raising a child with disabilities, the silly things that happened, and the frustrations. The pages added up, first ten, then twenty, thirty, forty, and by the time I had fifty pages, I thought perhaps I was writing a book.

That was over twenty years ago. Although my three children were technically adults, I was still parenting them. None were married, and two had not yet left home. I comfortably hid behind my role as a middle-aged wife, mother, and teacher, but I often felt there was something morphing beneath the mantle of my disguise, like the caterpillar in Eric Carle’s story, The Hungry Caterpillar.

I was becoming a writer.

Earlier this month, Amie, my Vine Leaves Press developmental editor, told me we were headed for the next stage. There would be no further edits or revisions. At the last minute, I changed a few lines that bordered on clichés or weak metaphors. We went back and forth over the subtitles for the book and finally agreed.

My title is:

The Shape of Normal: A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability and Embracing a Different Kind of Perfect.

Weigh in and tell me what you think!

Last week, I received the PDF galley of my book to send out to endorsement readers. The book would be going through a copy edit and then it will go through a proofread and be typeset. As soon as I have the cover, I’ll share that too!

Since I knew this would be the next task to manage, I was prepared. I composed ten or fifteen requests to send out to important authors, to entice them to read my book (or at least skim it) and write an endorsement. I approached this task like I had the querying process.

First I made a list of forty important authors who wrote a memoir, a book on the subject of disabilities or on the theme of motherhood. I wrote to people who had published my writing, or that I interacted with on Instagram. The best-selling author, Jacquelyn Mitchard, followed me on Twitter. When I wrote to her with my request, she responded, “Depending on what I think of the book,” sent me her address, and told me to send the hard copy when available. I sent both.

Yesterday, this was in my inbox:

“Intending to skim a chapter, I instead did not look up from Catherine Shields’s bold, funny, heartbreaking new memoir THE SHAPE OF NORMAL until I turned the last page. Nominally, it’s about raising a child with disabilities, but in fact, it’s about raising a child. It's filled with laughs and grit and unforgettable stories and unstoppable love. Everyone should have a mother like Catherine Shields, who probably did not realize her magnificent mettle until she was asked by the universe to raise her “magnificent but imperfect child,” Jessica. While it’s impossible to not wish that everything were easier for Jessica and for Cathy, sometimes things aren’t and sometimes, there is wonder in that fact.”

I didn’t run through the house screaming, but I thought about that birthday gift from years ago. After I received this incredible blurb, I asked Jacquelyn what other advice she had for me as I launch my book. She stressed marketing and social media. Okay, I’m trying!

As publication day grows closer, I am still writing companion pieces to promote my book. Today, I had another companion essay published in Brevity Blog. Lots of readers commented on it, and I could see my essay created a type of debate. Along with that, I saw an uptick in the number of followers on Instagram. Here’s the link and please make comments!

https://brevity.wordpress.com/2023/05/11/my-daughter-has-an-intellectual-disability-should-i-be-allowed-to-write-her-story

If you could please share this newsletter with anyone you think would be interested, please share this link!

I’m in the early stages of planning a book launch and assembling a street team. My daughter Alia sent me a list of where to send books to be reviewed or for awards. Presales for my book won’t be until August, so I have some time to think about this next stage.

I am so grateful to all my friends and family who listened to me for the past 20 years as I read pages aloud. Each of you probably has a memory of me reading a passage; I want to thank you for hanging in there and being patient. As I continue to learn more about marketing a book, I will share what I’m doing next, like planning promotional materials and giveaways. I do hope to make everyone proud when each of you finally gets a copy of my book!