Sticks and Stones documents my experience of being born with the birth defect known as spina bifida. Having spina bifida has affected every aspect of my life and it affects every part of my body. It’s known both as a “snowflake” condition because it affects every single person born with it differently, and as a degenerative condition, since our condition gets worse as we age. There is no cure and typically there is no way to prevent this from happening.
In particular, my book focuses on the medical trauma that I experienced as a child. This trauma has left me with PTSD, chronic pain and mobility issues, and in this project, I explore the events that took place and the effects that they have had on my life.
For most of my life, I have felt a lot of embarrassment, fear, and shame about my story, but now I feel like I’m finally ready to talk about it. With Sticks and Stones, I can do it my way, through a creative project and now that I’m an adult, there’s nobody here trying to put my words in my mouth and trying to tell me that things didn’t happen the way I remember.