05/16/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cyw2iFwas/?mibextid=wwXIfr
I’m honestly still trying to take this in.
TIME Magazine has selected my book, “My Friend Julia: A Sesame Street Book About Autism,” as one of their “25 Books That Capture This American Moment” for the America 250 project — a collection of works chosen to reflect where American life is headed and what speaks meaningfully to this moment in our history.
And sitting alongside names like Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, Phillis Wheatley, WEB duBois, and John Updike…well, even for a writer, it’s hard to find words for how that feels.
When I was a little girl, autistic children were rarely reflected in the stories America told about itself. Certainly not with warmth. Not with dignity. And almost never with joy.
But Julia has changed that.
Now, to see a book about an autistic Sesame Street character recognized not as “niche,” but as part of the American story itself…that is profoundly meaningful to me.
Because autistic children have always belonged here. Neurodivergent people have always belonged here. We are not now, nor have we ever been outside the story of this country.
We ARE part of it.
Thank you to . To . To And especially to for selecting “My Friend Julia” and recognizing the beauty and importance of neurodivergent stories.
Thank you, too, to every autistic person and family member who has fought to be seen fully and humanely. And to the younger version of me, who never could have imagined a moment like this.
This one will stay with me forever.
