When Derek Volk first sat down to write
a book, he had no idea that the result would be “Chasing the Rabbit” his newly
released book about life with his son Dylan, who has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Volk’s original plan was to write a
business book, based on the success he has had running a corrugated box plant in
Biddeford. But as he tried to work through what he was going to write, Volk
said he clearly heard a voice tell him, “That’s not the book you’re supposed to
write. You’re supposed to write a book about Dylan.” He immediately put aside
what he had been working on and started writing about Dylan.
It wasn’t until the first draft was
completed that Volk talked to Dylan about the work he was doing. “I was afraid
he was going to say no way,” he said. If that had been Dylan’s reaction, the
book would have been put aside. But Dylan supported the project fully, and was
interested in collaborating. Volk sent Dylan a section at a time, and asked him
to add his own perspective. These thoughts became sections called “Dylan’s
Take” throughout the finished book. Hearing about what Dylan experienced in his
own words is very powerful, Volk said.
The book is titled “Chasing the Rabbit,”
because Volk says he’s always compared Dylan to a greyhound, with the rabbit representing
‘normal.’ “He can see it, and he runs
really hard all day long, every day but it’s always just outside of his grasp.
He can never catch it, but he tries. He tries all the time. He’s constantly
chasing the rabbit,” said Volk.
There are examples throughout the book
of how clearly Dylan could see his own experience said Volk. A large part of
the struggle is Dylan’s awareness of how different things are for him. “Life
would be a lot easier if he wasn’t aware, if he was happy in his own world and
didn’t care whether he fit in and had friends,” said Volk, “But he’s running,
running, running after that rabbit.”
The response from parents who have read
the book has been incredible, said Volk, particularly the response from fathers.
There is no other book on this subject written from a dad’s perspective, he
added. “I really believe that this book was part of the big plan. I think we
went through what we went through so we could help other people,” he said.
One of the biggest reactions he has had
to the book is appreciation for how raw and honest it is. “I don’t pretty it up
at all. I don’t make me or my situation sound better than it was,” said Volk. His
honesty about the difficult emotions he experienced, including his anger at
Dylan, strikes a chord for many, he said.
Volk hopes that parents going through
similar situations can gain hope from reading his book. “Dylan is doing really well
now, but it was a long road to get where we are, so don’t give up,” he said.
For those who aren’t experiencing
similar situations, he hopes his story will bring awareness to the fact that
what looks like bad parenting might be more complicated than what they can see.
“I’m sure there were many people who looked at Amy and me with Dylan in public
places and thought what terrible parents,
how could they let him act that way?” he said.
Volk continues to run his business,
while also making time to travel for speaking engagements and book promotion. Derek
and Dylan will be speaking around the country for the next few months, including
Cleveland in June, Denver in July, Tucson in August, and Boston and Spokane, WA
in October. Volk is also conducting book signings locally, including one at
noon on Sunday, June 7th at the Dairy Queen in Windham, which is owned by his
brother-in-law.
No comments:
Post a Comment