Writing with Grace A Journey Beyond Down Syndrome

When Judy McFarlane is asked if she will help Grace, a woman with Down syndrome who dreams of becoming a famous writer, she realizes she holds deep, unacknowledged fears — that Grace will be a dull-eyed young woman who can’t read, let alone write, or that she might become agitated, even lash out. But the idea that Grace wants to be a writer, a dream McFarlane gave up when she was young, captures McFarlane. She helps Grace write her book and travels with Grace to give a copy of the book to her grandfather. Writing with Grace is the inspiring and informative story of the journey Grace and Judy have taken together. It relates the often-dark history of Down syndrome and tells a universal story of moving from a deep fear of the “other” to seeing the world through the eyes of another person. With honest introspection and keen insight, Writing with Grace delves into what it takes to face one’s own prejudice and what it means to live a full life and believe you are worthy.

Judy McFarlane is a writer, a graduate of the University of British Columbia's MFA Creative Writing program and a former lawyer. Her fiction and nonfiction stories, one of which was nominated for the Journey Prize, have been published in Canadian literary journals and newspapers and broadcast on CBC radio. She lives in Vancouver.