Shameless

Today, during his second day of high school, Jordan asked his Italian teacher if she could organize his class in a circle to introduce themselves. He told me that he spoke for twenty minutes as his class sat in silence. Apparently he had this tremendous need to explain himself and his deafness to his class.
His first day at school, he observed.
His second day of school, he spoke.

People ask me all the time, "How's the book? Have you made any money?"

I guess those are logical questions, but the writing of Rally Caps never involved dreams of riches or success, it was a cathartic experience for me and a way to do something with and for my dad.
Every time people ask me that question, I am taken aback and mumble some kind of response like, "The purpose of the book was never to sell it..and it has led me on a path filled with wonder."

More than a path, it has been a wave of consecutive coincidences that have given birth to the possibility of helping others.

I teach pediatricians, I speak before audiologists, ENTs, speech therapists, other parents and I have never once whipped out my book to say, "Hey, wanna buy it?"
The people who need it the most find it.
I'm kind of shy about the book, which is strange. My dad is promoting, doing, struggling to make it a film.

And me? Nothing. I took an American survey and transformed it into a National Pediatric Audiology Network. If I need to find a sponsor for the Italian Pediatric Audiology Network to promote Newborn Hearing Screening in Italy, I will go for your throat.

Book-related success to me was receiving comments from parents and feedback from children. It was seeing the book translated in Italian, so that Jordan could actually read it, and having the opportunity to thank all of the doctors and people involved in helping us. I even received a letter from Graeme Clark.

However, lately, I've been thinking about the book. If I lived in the USA, I would literally go school to school to speak to Principals and classes and request that they place the book in their library. It deserves to be there.

Now, after three years, I'm starting to wish for the book to become a film.

I am so proud that Jordan has a voice and that he uses it.

Wouldn't life be grand if your kid walked into a classroom and instead of hearing, "What's that thing on your head?"...
They were welcomed with, "I know what that is...it's a Cochlear Implant and it helps you hear."

(Dad...get moving, please)