A Step Toward Falling (31 page)

He squeezes my hand. “Didn't your list of qualities in a perfect boyfriend say, ‘Sweats a lot when he gets nervous'
and ‘Drives like an old lady'? I thought I read those two things.”

I laugh pretty hard. “I wrote them lightly in pencil because I didn't dare hope I could find them.”

“That's what I thought.”

“Once we get on the highway do you think you'll drive a little bit faster?” I ask.

“I don't know,” he says. “Probably not. Is that a problem?”

T
HIS BOOK WOULD NOT
exist if I hadn't befriended an extraordinary group of women fourteen years ago, all mothers of young children with special needs, to start an organization called Whole Children. In the beginning our mission was to create a few after-school classes where our children could work on the skills they were so deficient in—gross motor, fine motor, and speech—in the company of other kids. In truth, I don't think we expected it to last much beyond those early years and our own desperate need for a little company. Then, slowly but surely, we watched our children surprise us on a regular basis—with the skills they were learning, the odds they were defying, and the friendships they were making. This book was written as Whole Children celebrated its amazing tenth anniversary with the over seven hundred children, young adults, and families we've served. I thank everyone who has joined us on this journey—as a teacher, a participant, or a cheerleader from the sidelines willing to donate your time and/or money. I have learned more about resilience,
joy, happiness, and community sitting in that lobby than I have anywhere else, and you are all part of it.

This book would also not exist if I hadn't been allowed to watch the exceptional work of teachers Brian Melanson and Meghan Carroll, who pioneered a class called “Boundaries and Relationships” at the newly developed Milestones program—designed for the young adults our Whole Children constituents were becoming—to help them navigate their way toward more meaningful friendships. It would
definitely
not exist without the countless young adults I've befriended at Whole Children/Milestones, but especially the incomparable Molly Ciszewski, with her bright smiling face, her big romantic heart, and her wonderful mother, Lee.

I thank all my early readers who have given me more help than you will ever know: Mike Floquet, Carrie McGee, Valle Dwight, Melinda Reid, Katie McGovern, Bill McGovern, Monty McGovern, and Charlie Floquet.

Margaret Riley King has been a perfect agent match for this second half of my career with young adult and children's books. I am so grateful to have you on this journey with me. It's hard for me to imagine a better editor than Tara Weikum, who asks all the right questions and then trusts my instincts when I raise a few questions of my own. And Christopher Hernandez deserves a special nod because, apparently, I may be able to write books, but I certainly can't write titles. He thought of not only this title but—with his characteristic quiet modesty—also the title for my next book as well. A huge thanks to the rest of the
Harper team, who are all so smart about books, in addition to being so good at what they do—Christina Colangelo, Gina Rizzo, Ann Shen, Sarah Creech, and Alison Donalty.

This story is partly about the extraordinary power of theater and being on stage for teens and young adults with disabilities. I want to thank John Bechtold at Amherst Regional High School, who in no way reflects the drama teacher in this book, for the opportunity he's given my son and others like him to fully participate in their school musicals.

And last but not least, no one was luckier than I with the family I married into. I want to thank
all
the Floquets and Pentzes, especially Joanne, for filling my summers with so much happiness and the most peaceful place on earth to write. And Mike, Ethan, Charlie, and Henry, who give me more joy than they will ever know.

Ellen Augarten

CAMMIE M
C
GOVERN
is the author of
Say What You Will
as well as the adult novels
Neighborhood Watch, Eye Contact,
and
The Art of Seeing
. Cammie is also one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her husband and three children. You can visit Cammie online at
www.cammiemcgovern.com
.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at
hc.com
.

For Teens:

Say What You Will

A Step Toward Falling

For Adults:

The Art of Seeing

Eye Contact

Neighborhood Watch

Cover art © 2015 by Ann Shen

Cover art direction by Alison Donalty

HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

A STEP TOWARD FALLING
. Copyright © 2015 by Cammie McGovern. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

www.epicreads.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946375

ISBN 978-0-06-227113-6 (trade bdg.)

EPub Edition © September 2015 ISBN 9780062271150

15 16 17 18 19    
PC/RRDH
   10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION