Can I Sit With You?

Our first-ever Can I Sit With You? event was a smashing success! Liz Henry, SJ Alexander, Sarah Glover, and Michael Procopio all read their stories from the Can I Sit With You? book. Then we sold a gazillion copies of said book. And then -- in an act of generosity that would have gotten Shan teary even if she hadn't knocked back two beers to combat severe stage fright -- host (and CISWY author) Cindy Emch donated the entire night's proceeds to SEPTAR! All told, we wrangled $400 for those adorable kids and their families and teachers. *Sniff*

If you didn't have the good fortune to attend, check out our brand-new Flickr photostream for documentation. If you were there and took pictures, please link them up. And don't forget to add us as a contact.


Cindy Emch sporting the world's greatest tattoo

We gots the videos, too! (Please excuse the Cinéma-Vérité camera action. Again, there was beer.) Have a look at the excerpts:

Liz Henry reads from The Sex Change of Zyax II:



SJ Alexander reads from All's Fair in Love and Mucus:



Sarah Glover reads from Love Hurts:



Michael Procopio reads from The Sound of Musicals:



Thanks again, everyone. More events and more authors will be coming, so if you couldn't make this one, stayed tuned.

If you'd like to tell your friends and family to BUY BUY BUY about Can I Sit With You?, feel free to use the following letter:

Hi Folks,

Looking for that perfect holiday gift, the one that will both please its recipient and make its giver feel good?

Can I Sit With You? is a book co-edited by special needs parents Shannon Des Roches Rosa and Jennifer Byde Myers. It is a collection of stories about schoolyard social experiences, both good and bad. All proceeds from the sale of Can I Sit With You? go directly to SEPTAR, the fledgling Special Education PTA of Redwood City (www.septar.org).

These beautifully written, heartfelt tales should speak to anyone who has ever struggled to fit in with the other kids at school, wondered about feeling different, or felt like no one could possibly understand what they're going through. We hope they will inspire elementary and middle school students, or at the very least temper their bewilderment as they grapple with issues such as popularity, making friends, puberty, sexual orientation, religion, race, special needs siblings, and bullying.

The stories are told from the point of view of the former students, in their own words. We did not censor the profanities a former eight-year-old screamed at the boys who beat up her special needs brother. There is no preaching or patronizing. As one reviewer wrote, "Perhaps the most important lesson in all of [the stories] is that the writers all survived and grew up to have something to say, and a place to say it."

We think Can I Sit With You? is a wonderful book. And we would be so grateful for your support. You can purchase the book and have it shipped to you or your friends directly at:

http://www.lulu.com/content/1466612

Happy Holidays,

Shannon and Jennifer

P.S. Can I Sit With You? is also an ongoing blog project. You can discuss any of the stories in the book, read new stories, and submit your own stories at www.CanISitWithYou.org / ciswysubmissions@gmail.com.

Do have a seat. We need to tell you why we're so pleased with ourselves and with you, so stop fiddling around this instant and give us your full attention.

We met our goal. We published a schoolyard story every single day during October. Our book will be ready to go in less than two weeks. And this is all thanks to you: our esteemed readers and writers, our survivors and encounterers of schoolyard confusion.

If you consider that only six weeks ago Shan fell off the coffee wagon and called up Jen, blathering on with caffeine-induced, hallucinatory intensity about her newest idea: a project called Can I Sit With You? that could both share schoolyard stories to help some of our kids and raise money for our special ed PTA to help our other kids oh please pretty please? then our success is even more remarkable. (As is the fact that Jen agreed to do it, given her talent, schedule, and how much her skills are worth in the open market.)

In general: yay!

We're going to be in book production mode for the next ten days, and so will only publish two or three stories during that time. In the interim, here are some of our most popular stories, just in case you missed them:

The Real Meaning of Might by Amanda Jones
Love Hurts by Sarah Glover
The Sound of Musicals by Michael Procopio

The book will be here before you know it. There will be more trumpeting at that point, in addition to reminders that it will be the perfect holiday gift for every person you've ever known. Please stay tuned, spread the word, and comment. We'll always save a seat for you.