Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Ash.
Hi Dana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am an author and proud mother and grandmother of the two most beautiful beings. My grandson, Leto, was born at 24 weeks with less than a 50% chance of survival and a cyst on his left eye. As a result, he had an ocular (eyeball) removal. We were devastated but our faith far out-weighed our despair. That faith prompted me to offer a message of hope through writing I Can Do That, Too! where the main character is Leto Harper Fedd, my grandson. This book was written out of love and support for parents and children with disabilities. I want to encourage parents that while their child has a disability, they are still wonderfully and skillfully created. They can be accomplished, we just have to do things differently. I Can Do That, Too! is about the superhero Leto and his friends with disabilities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Superhero Leto was in the NICU for four months. He eventually maxed out on his oxygen and we received multiple calls informing us that we were at a “wait and see” and ” he is a fighter” stage. He endured multiple testing and fought infections. Visiting the hospital every day, often multiple times, only to go home to sleep, was a norm for my daughter. She was in a new marriage so the stress level was high. That is her story to tell. But I saw the anguish and fight in her eyes. As the grandmother, I couldn’t let her do this alone. So I took a leave from my job to be a support. Unfortunately, during the writing of this book, I lost my mother. For some reason, her death and the powerful life that she lived motivated me. She was a believer in all of her eight children, 27 grand and great-grandchildren. Her reminder of “do you know who you are” was a motivation. This pain and fight led me to write this book.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I have worked at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for 22 years. I was blessed to be hired as a secretary but now, for 15 years, I serve as an Operations Manager in the Health Information Management department. As a writer, I have written many plays for Christian organizations. These plays and recitations were for holidays or special civic events. I Can Do That Too! is unusual in that there aren’t many books featuring superheroes as Black handicap characters. I’m proud of this book. Leto and Friends will be a series and an education animation show. All of Leto’s friends are special. They all have some type of disability. These books will show us how they grow and develop. I am 57 years old and ready to take on this second phase of life and be a part of a writer’s community I never thought I would be a part of.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice is to trust your inner spirit. We never have all the answers, if we did, that would make us God. So we have to trust the gift and spirit that he has put inside of us and WORK IT. We can’t let the fear of failure and the “quiver in our voice” prevent us from stepping outside our comfort zone.
Pricing:
- 16.99
Contact Info:
- Email: danaash@letoandfriends.com
- Website: letoandfriends.com
- Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/letoandfriends/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetoandFriends
Image Credits:
Illustration Melchizedek Lockwood
