May Sosa and her son Liam with the book 'The Bear Who Didn't Fit.' (May Sosa)

By Ian Holmes

Making an impact

Nanaimo woman publishes books to open awareness of neurodiverse children

Apr 25, 2024 | 5:17 PM

NANAIMO — Authoring children’s books was not the kind of healing journey a busy Nanaimo nurse expected.

An injury sidelined May Sosa for a few weeks last year, spawning an unscripted journey of creating more awareness of the struggles of neurodiverse children in the form of several fairy tales.

Motivating Sosa to put pen to paper was her 10-year-old autistic son Liam, with the aim of helping neurodiverse children and who they interact with navigate the choppy waters of living with a diversibility.

“The stories just flowed incredibly easily for me, which for me I’ve never written a book in my life,” Sosa told NanaimoNewsNOW, who said she finds her story-telling venture therapeutic and highly rewarding.

A clinical nurse lead of psychiatric emergency services and intensive care at Nanaimo hospital, Sosa produced four books last year and has another four planned this year.

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Her fairy tale paperbacks predominantly feature neurodiverse children represented by animals struggling to fit in, as well as accommodative actions taken by others.

Collection of the four books May Sosa produced in 2023. (May Sosa)

Sosa’s fourth book, Monster and the Cub, changes gears by speaking to emotions children free of neurological challenges may face when a classmate is having a meltdown.

“It’s okay to feel scared, it’s okay to feel anxious when you see someone in a state like that and it’s okay to come home and discuss it and it’s okay to maybe come up with an idea of how you could help.”

Liam himself illustrated images in the book: A smile that Lost its Shape, and he’ll do the same for another project later this year.

“He loves it, he’s proud to be involved,” Sosa said as the tone of her voice gleamed with pride.

Three of Sosa’s books have been translated into Spanish, her native language.

“Any child can read the books and still get the message without thinking it’s not for them, anybody can read the books.”

The stories are periodically sold at Nanaimo area markets, as well as on Amazon, with the next in-person purchasing opportunity at Woodgrove Centre on Saturday, May 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sosa said the main message she wants to get across to kids with neuro challenges is that they are appreciated and valued for who they genuinely are.

“You’re not alone and you don’t have to change, you can still fit with your differences.”

NRGH nurse May Sosa said she didn’t ever envision being an author beyond writing online journals on autism. (May Sosa)

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ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes