Christina Carillo
Life Can Be a SmileStory of a six year old who is enrolled in classes for the disadvantaged. Cassy is a small young girl who was born with a severe speech disability. Cassy has light red hair that she likes to wear in pigtail but some days she just likes messy hair.Life can be a smile tells of how she handles day to day trials from teachers, students, school staff and the outside world who treat her as if she was mentally slow or deaf.The superintendent of her school tried to enroll her at a state school for the deaf. This failed due to the mother defying them by keeping her with the family and attending local schools.Even though she has hardships on a daily basis she is always smiling. Cassy believes life can be a smile and her favorite saying is 'Be Happy.' She wants everyone to like everyone else but it never turns out quite that way. Her best friends are a dog, a black and white spotted goat and a cockatiel. Her defenders are her older sister, by two years, and her mom who went toe to toe for justice.As Cassy ages she still finds the same obstacles through school. No one ever changes their minds until the day she ran for prom queen and came down the walkway looking like a beautiful young woman. This was the only time the students and public saw her in a different light. Her escort was surprised and very proud to walk her down the isle.The story comes from life experiences. I would like to see this book as the beginning of a series of books pertaining to the speech impairment and how the child deals with the issues throughout childhood.I am also working on a manuscript that is non-fiction of how Cassy’s life affected her and her family. The children’s book is only the tip of the iceberg.Email: sisterstogether09@yahoo.com
