Coming January 2025!
Sarah is a feisty and determined four-year-old with autism and a unique genetic blueprint. Her mom Jenny is equally feisty and determined, which leads to clashes and strife but also leads to phenomenal connection and progress as Jenny runs a Son-Rise Program for her, calling it Sarah-Rise.
The Son-Rise Program is an approach to working with people with autism to foster social connection. It provides intensely loving, focused one-on-one therapeutic play time, meeting Sarah where she is and never stopping her repetitive behaviors. Sarah’s language explodes, her eye contact intensifies, she plays games, plays imaginatively, uses the potty, eats healthily, reads, and writes.
Playing with Sarah is deeply rewarding for the volunteers who spend time in the Sarah-Rise room. While Jenny sometimes doubts herself and criticizes her parenting, she also explores new pathways to gentleness, joy, and laughter. She celebrates Sarah’s successes, marveling at the depth of love and creativity that her volunteers bring to the scene and stretching her own creative self. Accompany Jenny from Sarah’s birth through the decision to run Sarah-Rise, and follow the years of Sarah-Rise, pretending that markers are flowers and number flashcards are snowflakes. Have your heart warmed and your socks knocked off by this momentous journey.
Pre-order
Praise for Watching Sarah Rise
“A beautiful authentic story of love, acceptance, community, and hope. Loaded with insight, and delight. If you are a parent of a child or adult with special needs, I hope this book finds you. If you are an educator this book will be invaluable to your work.”
-Kate C. Wilde, author of Autistic Logistics, The Autism Language Launcher, and Autism Abracadabra.
“With wit, warmth, and a bit of whimsy, Briggs guides readers through the highs and lows of her family’s journey, building a community of care and creative play around one little girl who ‘takes a village’ along with her as she grows.”
-Dr. Elizabeth Fein, author of Living on the Spectrum: Autism and Youth in Community
“Watching Sarah Rise is equally informative as it is inspirational, gracious as it is gutsy. A beautifully written story filled with hope, integrity, and pure emotion, Briggs intimately invites her reader to experience the unique heartbreak and joy that comes with mothering a neurodivergent child.”
-Sherry Sidoti, author of A Smoke and a Song: A Memoir