Catina Wells —
despite adversity and being a single, never married mother of four — remains
undefeated, proud and honest about who she is – “a mother willing to sacrifice
for her children.” –From
Heartache to Hope: Middle Tennessee Families Living with Autism; photo, Rebekah Pope
All Good Things Must Come to an End. Or so they say. We did not receive the anticipated grant funding for the second printing of our book, so the following events, because of this, and additional complicated details, these events will most likely be the last that we will host and/or participate in for our book, From Heartache to Hope: Middle Tennessee Families Living with Autism.
The "Our" in this is "our" book's creative team, consisted of publisher Tim Fields, graphic designer Mary Sweeney of mSweeney design, photographer Rebekah Pope, and myself as producer and author. From Heartache to Hope was a donation of our time and creative services to the benefit of the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee.
You can meet at least Rebekah and I and see the fruit of our efforts in Nashville's Gordon Jewish Community Center's September 1-30 artist exhibition featuring Rebekah in addition to artists Dorit Riley and Lucy Arvin. The opening reception for the exhibit is Thursday, Sept. 2, 7-9. And, I'll be joining a panel on Tuesday, Sept. 21, beginning at 7 p.m. to discuss "Inclusitivity of People with Disabilities in Faith Communities." The panel, co-sponsored by Jewish Family Service will feature Courtney Evans Taylor, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center; Thomas Boehm, Faith For ALL; Tammy Vice, ASMT parent representative; Julie Greenberg, Education Director, Congregation Micah.
And, if you're in Nashville on Tuesday, Sept. 28, please also plan to see, at last, "The Horse Boy," Tuesday, Sept. 28, 7-9 and a 6:30 p.m.
reception beforehand, hosted by ITVS at Vanderbilt . This
moving, don’t miss movie features a Texas family that ventured horseback across
Mongolia with their son who has autism.
We will not have a Heartache to Hope
book signing, as previously planned at the two Horse Boy spring events that were
canceled because of tornadic weather and then the flood. However, I,
and community advocates and featured family members John Shouse and Dena
Gassner, along with a representative from Franklin’s SaddleUP! therapeutic
horseback riding program, will be a part of a panel discussing families and
autism, at 8:30-9, following the movie.
Also, book designer Mary Sweeney, created a
mini-video featuring photos and captions from the book, which will show in the
30 minutes before “The Horse Boy.” (If you are unable to make this
viewing, “The Horse Boy,” premiered on PBS in May, may be shown again on PBS stations,
plus is available on DVD format–obtainable via Amazon and Netflix, etc., and
also in book form.)
