{"id":27442,"date":"2014-02-06T10:30:28","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T14:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=27442"},"modified":"2021-07-09T16:22:01","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T20:22:01","slug":"wright-state-alumna-publishes-young-adult-novel-on-normalcy-and-romance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2014\/02\/06\/wright-state-alumna-publishes-young-adult-novel-on-normalcy-and-romance\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State alumna publishes young adult novel on normalcy and romance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sara<\/a>

Wright State 2010 graduate Sara Pyszka singing the national anthem at the 2010 Relay for Life on campus.<\/p><\/div>\n

The first moments of Sara Pyszka\u2019s life changed everything.<\/p>\n

When Pyszka was born, she couldn\u2019t breathe for three minutes. The oxygen supply to her brain was cut off and her motor abilities were permanently damaged. Pyszka has since been living with cerebral palsy\u2014utilizing a motorized wheelchair and a computerized voice mechanism for communication.<\/p>\n

But Pyszka pays little attention to her disability.<\/p>\n

Instead, she has occupied her adult life with outstanding accomplishments. Pyszka obtained a degree in rehabilitation services at Wright State in 2010; sang the national anthem at two Major League Baseball games; recited the Pledge of Allegiance at the 2004 Republican National Convention; wrote a number of songs with Lucas Richman, the head conductor of the Knoxville Symphony; and most recently, published a full-length novel, Dancing Daisies.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dancing Daisies<\/em> is a coming-of-age drama about Brynn Evason. Despite Brynn\u2019s cerebral palsy, she is your ordinary 17-year-old girl. She cares too much about what other people think and always finds herself wrapped up in drama. The story takes place at a summer camp where Brynn is swept off her feet by a charming boy who sees past her disability.<\/p>\n

\"Dancing<\/a>Pyszka first began writing Dancing Daisies<\/em> when she was 19. Initially, Pyszka\u2019s main character was just in a wheelchair. In the second draft, she rewrote the character to make her exactly like herself\u2014that is, having cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow, the process became more about educating people about who I am, and what I go through everyday,\u201d said Pyszka.<\/p>\n

Pyszka has always enjoyed writing, which, she said endows her with freedom she cannot find anywhere else.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use my DynaVox to write,\u201d she said. \u201cIt allows every word, sentence and paragraph to come directly out of my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DynaVox, a speech-generating device, scans through words and letters on the screen attached to Pyszka\u2019s motorized wheelchair. Whenever the DynaVox generates the word she wants to write or say, she hits a switch next to her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had help with the editing process from other people, but because of the DynaVox, I feel like writing is the one thing I can do 110 percent by myself,\u201d said Pyszka.<\/p>\n

Dancing Daisies <\/em>is now available in paperback<\/a> or as an e-book on Amazon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two things I\u2019m really hoping people take away from this book,\u201d said Pyszka. \u201cThe first is that I am able to have a relationship. They are going to be a little different, but I am able to love just as much as anybody else.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second thing I want more people to understand is that my disability is not the problem,\u201d she continued. \u201cGetting betrayed by your friends is always going to trump not being able to walk. The feeling of not being accepted is always going to trump not being able to talk. Sometimes, one little comment from somebody, positive or negative, really affects me more than my disability.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State 2010 graduate Sara Pyszka has released a YA book “Dancing Daisies,” a coming-of-age drama about a 17-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":27446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4299,744,725,715,2089,719],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-profile","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-social-work","category-special-categories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27442"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108738,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27442\/revisions\/108738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}