"A Book of Bullies"

My name is Katherine Stanley and I have PWS. Last year, I wrote a book called A BOOK OF BULLIES. Some of you may have heard of my book, or even read it. I wrote the book because I was bullied and ridiculed in school. Was I bullied because I have PWS and I am different from my peers? Yes, I think that was part of it, but I saw many other people without disabilities being bullied and some with disabilities who were not bullied. I learned many things from my bad experiences and I wanted to share what I had learned. I also wanted to turn those bad experiences into something good, so I wrote the book. Writing the book and having it published has also taught me many things, and I want to share those things with you now.

I began thinking about writing a book to talk about the hurt and harm of bullying when I was in middle school at about 12 years old. I wanted to tell people that it is not OK to act like that and I also wanted to encourage people to be kinder to each other. Whenever I would mention that I wanted to write a book, I could tell that people did not think that I would be able to do it. I thought about that book and practiced my writing skills for years. Finally, when I was 16 years old I began writing it. 

I had discovered in my 10^th grade English class that I enjoyed writing in rhyme, so I started writing rhymes about bullies and the next thing I knew, I had the book written. Even though most people did not have any confidence in my ability, my family did. My parents and my sister read my rhymes and encouraged me. My sister drew illustrations for each poem. My mom helped by finding a local children’s book author to advise me. We were invited to a fund raiser for Grateful Steps Publishing, and when I met Micki Cabaniss, the head of that company, I told her I was an aspiring author and I recited excerpts from the book for her. Since I had spent so much time writing and re-writing that book, I knew it by heart and it was easy to recite. There were other authors there talking about their work, and when I was asked if I would like to speak about my book, I said “YES!”  That was the first time I did any public speaking, and I loved it! I was given an appointment to meet at the publishers office, and in less than a year my book was in print. I was officially a published author and that made me very happy and proud of myself.

 

Katherine's book is available from AMAZON

This has been a wonderful experience for me and I have learned so much. One thing that I have learned that I want to share with everyone is BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. As I said before, not many people thought I would be able to write a good book and get it published. If I had believed those people, I would not have even tried to write a book.  Another thing that I have learned is the POWER OF BEING PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE. When you find what you love to do, and do your very best, it makes you proud. When you overcome obstacles it also makes you proud. Those of us with PWS have many obstacles to overcome – sometimes we will succeed and sometimes we will fail – but we should never give up. When you are proud of yourself, nothing a bully says can make you feel worthless. If you are the family of someone with PWS please give your loved one the benefit of the doubt before you decide that they can’t do something. Help them, encourage them and believe in them. I have needed a great deal of help with the business side of this book. I like to write, but I am not good at business yet, but I am learning. My mom always told me that I was smart. She always said that I had beautiful thoughts, and I believed her. She convinced me that I had something to say that people need to hear. My family encouraged me and helped me to have self control and self esteem. I am writing other books that I hope to have published in the future. I am also writing song lyrics. All of my books and songs will have a positive message. I intend to use my voice in every way I can to make the world a better place.

Life is not easy for a person with PWS. We have food issues, emotional issues and limitations – but we also have a purpose in this world. All my life I will have to struggle with the difficulties that my genetics have caused me, but I am just the way GOD made me, and I love my life.