Jennifer Celeste Briggs wrote her memoir, Watching Sarah Rise, to document her journey of helping her daughter with autism thrive. Autism now affects 1 in 36 children in the US and yet modern medicine and society are still evolving in their understanding of how to offer comprehensive support to individuals and families impacted by this multifaceted condition. In starts and fits, Briggs had to chart her own path for herself and her daughter. Her memoir is not only deeply personal, but also universal to any parent, struggling to help their child overcome challenges. Publishers Weekly Booklife praised “Briggs writes movingly and with grace about the emotions parents of children with special needs face before marshaling their strength and actively advocating for their children and their future.”
Watching Sarah Rise: A Journey of Thriving with Autism
by Jennifer Celeste Briggs
Blurb: For readers who love inspiring true stories, a contemporary memoir from a mother who helped her nonverbal daughter with autism find her voice.
Families who have supported a child with special needs will connect with this memoir about Sarah, a feisty girl with autism and a unique genetic blueprint. Her mom, Jenny, is equally feisty and determined, which leads her to make a commitment that dramatically changes her and Sarah’s lives—as well as those of many others.
Sarah’s early years are filled with challenges, and Jenny and her husband, Carl, try various therapies in an effort to help her. At four years old, Sarah is still nonverbal, still doesn’t use the potty, and still struggles with eating. Jenny knows she must do more. She has heard of a method developed by the Autism Treatment Center of America called The Son-Rise Program, which, through loving, supportive interaction, aims to foster social connection in people with autism. It is a huge undertaking, requiring hours of one-on-one therapeutic playtime, which means Jenny needs to find and train volunteers to make it possible. Though Jenny isn’t sure she can do it, she decides to try. She calls her program Sarah-Rise.
Accompany Jenny as Sarah’s language explodes, her eye contact intensifies, and she plays games, plays imaginatively, uses the potty, eats healthily, reads, and writes. Have your heart warmed and your socks knocked off by this momentous journey.
Author Interview
At what point did you decide to be an author, and what was your path to publication?
I had tried to write the book for a few years but kept stopping because I felt overwhelmed and didn’t know how to shape the book. During the 2020 pandemic, with more time on my hands than usual, I was able to simplify my task to a first step that could shape the whole book. That helped the book come to life. After creating my first manuscript I hired an editor and worked extensively with her to develop and revise my book. Before submitting to She Writes Press, I had my husband edit the book – a brave and loving act on his part. He helped me cut it down to a submittable size of 100,000 words or less. I was thrilled when She Writes Press accepted by submission. They were the only place that I had considered, and I’m glad they thought my work was good enough to publish.
What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a writing project? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?
I’m not pulled to write other things aside from my weekly blog updates. The things that pull me away from that writing or publicizing the book or creating the audiobook are related to running my household and parenting. I do like to finish whatever book I am reading before starting new books, but this is mostly for fiction and memoirs. If it is a book outside of those categories, then I might inch through it while interspersing that reading with other books.
What have you found to be most challenging about writing in memoir?
The biggest struggle was how to shape the book and whether it was to be linear through time or thematic, or somehow both. It was also hard to take things out when I really liked the moment or the writing but knew that the whole book would be better if it was shorter. Adding dialogue retrospectively at first felt like an insurmountable challenge because I relied so heavily on my previously written blog posts. If I hadn’t written it out before then how could I possibly remember a moment and what people said? Yet, once I started writing the dialogue then the words came easily because we don’t interact much differently with each other now than we did years ago. We are still the same people with the same intentions and love for each other. So, while our words for a given conversation may be made up, they are true.
Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in your professional life/education in your writing?
I was an English Literature major in college, and I have always liked reading and writing. I’m sure that influenced me as I created my own book. My background as a massage therapist and Alexander Technique teacher influenced my parenting and is thus a topic in my book.
Describe your memoir in 10 words or less for people just learning about it.
A program that helped my daughter speak and connect socially.
What would you like people to take away from your book?
I want people to know that the Son-Rise Program exists and is a powerful approach to connecting with people with autism. I hope people feel less alone in their struggles and find joyful connection with others in their lives, whether on the autism spectrum or not. I hope to help other families of kids with special needs who may be struggling as we did in Sarah’s early years. I have heard from multiple people who don’t have kids with special needs that my journey and my words are helpful to them in their lives, so my dream is that my book could have a wide impact on how people deal with their challenges. It is our beliefs and perspective that influence our experience. With love, support, and gentle inquiry to uncover those beliefs, we can change our experience in a way that is empowering and freeing.
Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?
Simplify your steps so that your goal doesn’t feel overwhelming. Just do the next step and then the next step until you are wherever you want to be. Also, you can hire people to help you! I didn’t know that there are book midwives and developmental editors, but there are. I am so grateful that a friend told me about hybrid publishers because that seemed like the perfect fit for me. I would recommend looking at the range of publishing options available so that you find what works for you.
About the Author
Jennifer Celeste Briggs has a BA in English Literature from Swarthmore college. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and two daughters. Her daughter Sarah has a genetic anomaly and autism. When Sarah was four, Jenny decided to run a Son-Rise Program for her, calling it Sarah-Rise, and training at the Autism Treatment Center of America. The Son-Rise Program is a loving child-centered approach to helping those with autism and other challenges connect socially, verbally, and through increased eye contact. Organizing hundreds of hours of therapeutic play time for Sarah, Jenny trained and coordinated multiple volunteers who contributed their love and creativity to the venture. Jenny started a blog to share the experience of Sarah-Rise and has heard multiple times that her words were helpful to others dealing with life struggles. Jenny wants to help parents feel understood and to spread the word about The Son-Rise Program. She hopes that her words bring comfort, joy, and inspiration to readers whatever their challenges and journeys may be.
For more info, visit watchingsarahrise.com.
Instagram: @jennifercelestebriggsauthor
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