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Empathy Through Story: A Q&A with Miriam Chernick on The Zuzu Secret

Empathy Through Story: A Q&A with Miriam Chernick on The Zuzu Secret 0

To close out Disability Pride Month, we're honored to share this heartfelt Q&A with author Miriam Chernik, whose new middle grade novel The Zuzu Secret is inspired by her real-life experiences growing up with a brother who has Prader-Willi Syndrome. In this conversation, Miriam reflects on the power of storytelling, the importance of representation, and what she hopes readers will take away.

 

The Zuzu Secret features a main character with Prader-Willi syndrome. Why was it important to you to write a story that includes this specific disability?
 
I grew up with an older brother, Daniel, who was born with PWS, and I’ve been helping care for him ever since. During the COVID lockdown, Daniel came to live with me and my family for over fifteen months, so he and I spent many hours walking, talking, and reminiscing. Caring for a sibling in the role of parent was new and really hard, so I started to journal some of our conversations as a kind of coping mechanism. I wrote about what I was experiencing in real time and later, with Daniel’s unique speech pattern stuck in my head, my journaling became the basis of this story told in alternating voices.
 
What do you hope young readers—especially those with disabilities or who have siblings with disabilities—take away from this story?
 
For young readers who are unfamiliar with this disease or who have not grown up in this type of family, The Zuzu Secret is what we call a “window story,” as if the reader is looking through a window into a different world. For kids or siblings of kids with PWS or another disabling disease, this will be more of a “mirror story,” where they see a part of themselves as they read. In either case, I hope everyone who picks up this book will enjoy it for the story and characters but also come away with more empathy for their fellow humans. 

Do you have any favorite books—past or present—that portray disability with care and authenticity?
 
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White is about a boy, Sam, who helps Louis, a swan who was born unable to honk, learn to “speak” by using a trumpet. As a child, I loved this book for two reasons. First, it’s about animals—and I love animals! Second, it’s a story about disability, about Louis struggling because he cannot communicate with his flock. I sympathized with this swan’s difficult predicament and understood Sam’s wanting to help him. 
 
More recently, I read The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune, a masterfully written story about abilities, disabilities, and the “othering” that is so prevalent in our society. I read this book straight through, distraught over the treatment of some of the characters. And yet, in the end, Klune left me feeling hopeful.
 
What do you wish more people understood about Prader-Willi syndrome and similar rare conditions?
 
When my brother Daniel was growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s, disabled people were sent away to institutions or shuttered at home. (Our family’s situation was exceptional in that way. My brother lived at home and participated in everything the family did until he was an adult). Thanks to the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act), which was signed into law in 1990, people with disabilities have many more rights. Today there are more services that enable people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities to be out in the world. Still, for some, seeing people with disabilities in public places—such as at the grocery store—is off-putting. They turn away. They tell children, “don’t stare.” But kids are curious. They learn by looking. So, as long as it’s not with contempt, I believe it’s okay to look at a disabled person—and acknowledge them. How? With a nod, a smile, a wave, or even a “hello,” just like you might acknowledge someone else. Every human deserves to be recognized.  
 
What has the response been like from families or readers who share similar lived experiences?
The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive and heartfelt. After reading The Zuzu Secret, people in PWS families have been eager to share their own unique stories. Many have said they bought the book for friends and family to better understand this difficult disease. One mom told me, “When someone asks me what it’s like to live in a family with someone with this type of disability, I don’t have to answer anymore. I just hand them the book and say, ‘read this’.”

 

The Zuzu Secret is a story of honesty, empathy, and the bonds that shape us. We’re grateful to Miriam for sharing her experiences and shedding light on the realities—and the love—within families touched by disability. As Disability Pride Month comes to a close, may stories like this continue to open hearts and minds all year long.

More Resources for The Zuzu Secret:
Reader Group Guide
The Zuzu Secret Webpage

 

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Charlesbridge Celebrates National Library Week

Charlesbridge Celebrates National Library Week 1

 (Austrian National Library, Hofburg Palace)

 

In the words of iconic actress Katharine Hepburn, "What in the world would we do without our libraries?" At Charlesbridge, we couldn't agree more! So in honor of National Library Week this year with its theme of "Libraries Transform," we wanted to share our favorite things about libraries with all of you:

My favorite thing about libraries is wandering. I used to be a student worker at my college library’s circ desk and I loved shelving because it would take me to areas of the library I wouldn’t normally go to. I brought home five new books to check out and look at every time. —Lauren Barrett, Sub-rights Coordinator/Associate

I absolutely love the atmosphere at any library—a quiet mix of curiosity and relaxation! I also appreciate creative book displays and the general convenience of borrowing physical and audio books. —Julie Bliven, Editor/Contracts Manager

When I walk into the BPL Connolly Library in Hyde Square in Jamaica Plain, I’m always struck by three things: 1) the physical beauty of the building, 2) the vast and beautiful diversity of the patrons, and 3) the various activities going on. From youth tutoring programs to computer terminals for teens and adults, from Boston City Council hearings hosted in the basement auditorium to the slew of kids on the floor surrounded by picture books, to an enormous Spanish section to the bilingual staff, my branch library is a gift to the community and a hub of activity. Libraries across the United States fill more roles than any one person can imagine, and their importance can’t be overstated. ¡Viva la biblioteca! —Karen Boss, Associate Editor

(BPL Connolly Library, Hyde Square, Jamaica Plain, MA)

Libraries are my happy place. When I walk into a library, the aroma of books both old and new hangs in the air and I feel like I’m home. I enter ready to embark on new adventures, to crack open spines and sift through pages, hoping to find my next favorite read, and before I know it, I’ve been wandering among the stacks for hours and enjoying every minute! I’m not in a rush at the library, I can slow down and let my eyes take in every inch of the shelves, it allows me time and peace as I peruse. I love libraries because that’s where I go to relax and stumble upon new characters. I always end up leaving with a huge stack of books in my arms, ready to jump head-first into each one, but wondering how I’ll ever have time to read them all! —Rachael Doody, Sales and Marketing Assistant

I’ve found myself using the library more than I ever have and it’s due to my two-hour daily commute. I have been checking out books-on-CD in order to take a break from the commercial-filled radio stations. Listening to books helps tune out the traffic and makes my daily commute less stressful. —Tracy Fournier, Accounting Manager

Libraries hold secret treasures. Like many kids, I fell hard for fantasy: Tolkien, Lewis, LeGuin, McKinley. But I didn’t know there were other people who liked that stuff; everyone I knew just looked at me blankly when I talked about it. The library didn’t judge me, though. There was a whole section of fantasy! I was obsessed with one gorgeous, oversize book, The Flight of Dragons, and kept borrowing it over and over again. Part of me daydreamed about stealing it—just slipping it out the window. Who was reading it besides me, anyway? But I never did, and I like to imagine that in the decades since, many other misfit kids have discovered and cherished that book—and other library treasures. —Alyssa Mito Pusey, Senior Editor

Libraries have always felt welcoming to me. I love the way they smell. I love to wander the aisles, run my fingers over the titles, and select anything that pops out at me. Usually, the thicker the better. In larger or university libraries, I can’t resist pulling the leather-bound books off the shelves that send the dust flying, to delightedly discover that the book was published in 1876. Who could have read it before me in the last century and a half? I miss the days of the paper checkout slips because you’d be able to see how long it had been since someone checked out that particular book—imagine, this was last borrowed in 1954! But whatever I discover, or whatever the reason I find myself in a library today (which often now is to work peacefully on my laptop), I always feel right at home. —Monica Perez, Executive Editor at Large

I love that libraries are not just about books, but about communities. From the staff to the patrons to the people in the parking lot, libraries are full of fellow book and content lovers, connecting folks from all around town with events, resources and good reads. —Megan Quinn, Senior Director of Sales

A library is a great equalizer, providing everyone with access to the information and books they need or would like to read and that they may not otherwise be able to get. It contains a vast wealth of knowledge in one inviting place that we are lucky to be able to visit whenever we want. And I LOVE being around all those books! —Cynthia Ritter, Marketing, Publicity & Promotions Assistant

I enjoy making a lot of noise at the library. I like to drop books on the floor. BAM! I love how it echoes throughout the building! I also like to ask the librarian questions from thirty feet away. “Hey! Where can I find a book on etiquette??” Other things I enjoy doing at the library: whistling, wearing squeaky shoes, and reading out loud! “SAY! I do like green eggs and ham!” Libraries are fun! —Bob Sammartino, Accounting Director

I have always loved the experience of walking into a library, finding something that interested me, and sitting down to read for hours. When I was a kid, my mother had to call the town library and ask the librarian to send me home for dinner. —Martha Sikkema, Senior Designer

I’ll never forget signing my name on my first library card. I knew I had experienced one of the great watershed moments on the path from childhood to adulthood. Choosing my own books each week at the public library was perhaps THE most important way that I began to shape my own destiny and my future grown-up self. I’m lucky I had both a mother who encouraged this and a school system that supported my early reading habits—but I also needed libraries and librarians to light the way. That great partnership between families, schools, and libraries is critical to every child’s success. —Yolanda Scott, Associate Publisher/Editorial Director

(Little Yolanda, November 1977)

[To the tune of "My Favorite Things"]

Words on bright pages
With illos and gate folds
Couches for reading
New arrivals and place holds

Stories of heroes and villains and kings
These are a few of my favorite things
(About the library).
—Donna Spurlock, Director of Marketing

What's your favorite thing about libraries? Share in the comments below!

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Remember ALA Annual in San Francisco? 0

Those were the days. Join us on a trip down memory lane. Ah, good ol' Charlesbridge booth 3116. The authors! The illustrators! The librarians! The books!! Good times.
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