Canaries Among Us: Parenting at the Intersection of Bullying, Neurodiversity, and Mental Health

by Kayla Taylor

Overview

“riveting … powerful … brilliant … necessary” —Kirkus Reviews

For those drawn to both Tara Westover’s moving account of a difficult childhood and Susan Cain’s research on underappreciated traits … Canaries Among Us reveals the exquisite joy and tender heartache inherent in raising a child who is undervalued by a community.

A lifeline to those struggling with learning differences, bullying, and anxiety, Canaries Among Us explores one of the most widespread threats to child well-being: a lack of acceptance. This heart-rending exposé provides a candid view of the ways unique children are regularly misunderstood and mistreated. Fortunately, through raw storytelling and ground-breaking science, Taylor points to an inspirational alternative: supporting, and even celebrating, the dazzling variety of our humanity. 

The author is donating her profits to organizations promoting mental health, neurodiversity, and bullying prevention.

Note: This book was previously subtitled "A Mother’s Quest to Honor her Child’s Individuality in a Culture Determined to Negate It."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647422936
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	349
Sales rank:	592,747
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kayla Taylor writes to address important issues plaguing families, and she uses a pseudonym to protect the identities of minor children. She is donating her profits from the first edition of Canaries Among Us to organizations promoting mental health, neurodiversity, and bullying prevention.

Editorial Reviews

10/10/2022

Taylor powerfully highlights America’s bias against neurodiversity in this heartfelt and sensitive debut. When her daughter Hannah is bullied in second grade, Taylor isn’t sure what steps to take—and when her efforts to address the problem fall flat with Hannah’s teacher and school administration, it kickstarts a long and painful journey for Hannah and her family. While fighting the educational system, and other school parents, Taylor embarks on her own research to find out how best to help her daughter. That quest leads her family to discoveries that are both challenging and beautiful as they start to understand Hannah’s special characteristics—and come face to face with the entrenched bias surrounding them.

Taylor’s odyssey is inspiring, although her daughter’s treatment at the hands of other children and adults will alarm and upset readers. Taylor shares her correspondence with professionals in hopes of raising awareness for her daughter’s needs, and each time the family senses a breakthrough, there is inevitably someone standing in their way—whether it’s a school psychologist joining in on the bullying or teachers who are resistant to giving Hannah the accommodations that will help her succeed. Despite a positive outcome in the end, Hannah and her family are irrevocably changed by the hostility they encounter, but that animosity makes the help they do receive all the more meaningful.

Parents will be swept into Taylor’s story, experiencing the family’s pain and eventual triumphs alongside them, and some may even recognize their own biases and contributions to school bullying in the process. She covers how small pockets of closed-minded people can command too much power—leading to pluralistic ignorance—and delves into the aftereffects of her family’s institutional betrayal, including Hannah’s anxiety and her own trauma symptoms stemming from the experience. Deeming everyone a possible change agent, Taylor declares, “there can be no carve-outs to decency or social justice.”

Takeaway: An eye-opening look at the painful effects of prejudice against neurodiversity.

Great for fans of: Deborah Reber’s Differently Wired, Ron Fournier’s Love That Boy.

Production grades Cover: B Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A Marketing copy: B

BookLife Reviews

Canaries Among Us is a masterpiece … a poignant, urgent, and important story that has yet to be told and needs to be heard. I recommend it to everyone involved in raising or educating children.”
—Rosalie Whitlock, CEO of the Children’s Health Council

“This book should be required reading for educators, caregivers, and health providers alike. The thought-provoking and relatable story will hopefully raise awareness around the devastating consequences of bullying and the necessity of respecting children’s individuality and inherent dignity.”
—Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees & Wannabes

“For any parent who has worried their child does not fit in or who has battled with a school to do what is right for a child, this amazing book will heal your soul while offering important strategies, insights, and even several smiles along the way.”
—Jo Boaler, Stanford, author of Limitless Mind, Co-Founder of youcubed.org

“This is an important book with essential messages for all of us … Let’s hope that [it] helps to open up the discussion in order to affect some change in our society.”
—Booktrib

“Overall, this is a powerful book that offers a brilliant exposé of how, even after the rise of anti-bullying efforts, enforcement remains a challenge, and it illustrates what happens when anti-bullying efforts are finally honored . . . A necessary book on the intersections of neurodivergence and bullying.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“The courage to put this story on paper should not be overlooked … Taylor addresses so many noteworthy things … includ[ing] the importance of inclusion, diversity, and how to protect children who are vulnerable. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to all parents [and] educators. Everyone can benefit from a better understanding of [each] other’s differences.”
—San Francisco Book Review (5/5 Stars)

“Taylor powerfully highlights America’s bias against neurodiversity in this heartfelt and sensitive debut … Parents will be swept into Taylor’s story, experiencing the family’s pain and eventual triumphs alongside them, and some may even recognize their own biases and contributions to school bullying in the process.”
—Booklife by Publisher’s Weekly (Editor’s Pick)

From the Publisher

2022-09-06
A mother’s fight for justice for her neurodivergent child.

In her debut book, Taylor, a mother who’s held “some high-pressure jobs,”provides a riveting account of what happens when a school does not live up to the values it promotes, particularly when it comes to neurodiversity and inclusion. The book begins with her discovery that her daughter, Hannah, had been bullied at school and then chronicles her uphill battle to hold those involved—and those in authority—to account. She writes that Hannah was different from many of her peers; a neuropsychologist told the author that her daughter had limited short-term memory, situational anxiety, and a sensory processing disorder. Taylor did not want her daughter to be forced to fit into a so-called “normal” that didn’t allow for her differences. However, the author says that she found herself having to deal with indifference and even hostility from teachers and school administrators; at the same time, she was anxious about being stereotyped as an overprotective “helicopter parent.” She also found no justice regarding the bullying situation, even amid revelations that other kids at the school were being targeted. Taylor took strength from allies she found as she pursued a larger quest for inclusion and accountability. Overall, this is a powerful book that offers a brilliant exposé of how, even after the rise of anti-bullying efforts, enforcement remains a challenge, and it illustrates what happens when anti-bullying efforts are finally honored. It may also be painful at times for neurodivergent readers who didn’t have a similarly supportive caregiver to go to bat for them. Overall, it’s a much-needed call for people to recognize the needs of the bullied, and it often does an excellent job of demonstrating how the concept of making amends is not taken seriously. This book doesn’t offer a simple happy ending but it effectively illustrates the possibilities of hope.

A necessary book on the intersections of neurodivergence and bullying.

Kirkus Reviews