Brittany

I was looking through some old sketchbooks today after work. There are a lot of things I started but for one reason or another, abandoned. One of them was a book about my little sister, Brittany.

My sister was born with a cleft lip and palate. She has been through a lot in her life even though she is only 25, including more than 10 surgeries(if my count isn't off). She went through speech pathology and hospital stays, 5 years of painful braces, kids taunting, teasing, and staring. She is strong.

Regardless of what she might say, she was the most adorable little kid. She was such a funny little tom boy, running around with more energy than imaginable in her pink 1980's running shorts.

A few years ago I wanted to write and illustrate a book about her experience growing up with a cleft lip and palate. How it was similar to and different from that of other children. I am currently working on a completely different childrens book though, which I have developed much much further along.

Maybe one day I will come back to this project though. Maybe if I get a book deal for the one I am currently working on(I can only imagine!) I will be able to create the book about my sister.

I scanned in and posted one of my sketchbook pages. It has some quick drawings of her face & her in a swimsuit(cute chubby baby legs & belly!) and some ideas I had for pages.