She’s in a completely different environment, away from home for the very first time, without her support group and she’s all alone.” But at the camp, which is designed for children with disabilities, Melody immediately meets a fiercely protective ally in her one-on-one camp counselor Trinity, whom Draper describes as “kind and loving and no-nonsense.” In addition to activities like horseback riding and ziplining (the details of which Draper carefully researched), campers attend a nightly campfire, where Draper said many discussions central to the story take place. “So, in this book she goes to summer camp. In Out of My Heart, Melody is 12 and “she has basically conquered all the school-related problems that she could conquer,” Draper said. I gave Melody that voice and it resounded.” “Students like Melody wrote to me and said, ‘Thank you for giving me a voice because nobody knew what it was like to be me’ and ‘Thank you for putting me out there so I could be just like everybody else.’ Everybody needs a voice. “Parents told me, ‘Nobody’s ever written about how hard it was to be this mom,’ ” she continued. “It stunned me with the reception that it received,” Draper said.

Draper notes that she has a family member who is the inspiration for this book, but that Melody’s story is not a literal interpretation. Out of My Mind was widely embraced by students, educators, and parents Melody’s narrative especially rang true for young readers with cerebral palsy, or who may have other disabilities, and their families. The book has sold more than four million copies and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly four years. In her 2010 novel Out of My Mind (S&S/Atheneum/Dlouhy), author Sharon Draper introduced readers to Melody Brooks, an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy frustrated by the limitations people have placed on her and desperate to communicate her intelligence and wit as she navigates fifth grade.

Melody di sharon m draper