“What color is Monday?” he asked again, his robotic voice rising ever so slightly in irritation. “I don’t see Monday as a color. Do you?” I asked, finally tuning in to what he was talking about.
“Yes. All days are colors.”
All days are colors. On a seemingly ordinary day, Jack once again granted me the privilege to take a tiny peek inside his fascinating mind. Without preamble, he rattled off which color he associates with each day. And then, just as suddenly as the conversation began, he snapped his mind closed and moved on to something else entirely. I tried to probe further; why was Saturday purple? Was the entire day purple, or just the morning? “I told you. No more,” he responded in a clipped tone.
Out of our discussion, a book title was born. Riddle Brook Publishing has asked me to write a book based on our life with an autistic child. I originally wanted to call the book Thursday is Purple, but a couple of weeks ago Jack off-handedly remarked that Thursday is sometimes green. (Come on, Jack-a-boo. I’m trying to write a book about you here. For real.) And so, What Color is Monday? it is.
With an infectious voice, an impeccable eye for detail and a canvas rich with personal exploration and understanding, What Color Is Monday will open your eyes to autism and the unpredictable journey of parents.
Raising five children would be challenge enough for most parents, but when one of them has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, the adventures become even more fascinating. In this moving–and often funny–memoir, author Carrie Cariello invites us to take a peek into exactly what it takes to get through each day with four boys and one girl, and shows us the beauty and wonder of a child who views the world through a different lens.
She is a regular contributor to Autism Spectrum News and has been published in several local parenting magazines. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Rockefeller College and an MBA from Canisius College in New York.
At best estimate, she and Joe have changed roughly 16,425 diapers.
