Autism Advocate Reimagines His Own Journey to Inspire Young Readers Who Feel Different
Neurodiversity speaker and advocate Matthew Kenslow has spent years sharing his experiences of growing up autistic. Now, he’s relating those experiences in a new way.
Kenslow’s new book,
The Tireless Advocate: An Epic Journey of One Autistic Who Refused to Surrender, follows Zachary Corwin, an autistic young man who grows up facing relentless bullying, ableism and discrimination. From childhood through adulthood, Zachary is often underestimated and overlooked, but he refuses to let those barriers define his future.
Driven by perseverance and purpose, Zachary pursues his passions, especially teaching. He becomes a respected educator and sought-after substitute teacher, encouraging students with his positivity and authenticity. While giving back through volunteer assemblies and reaching tens of thousands of lives, he continues to overcome rejection and adversity with unwavering determination.
The book draws heavily from Kenslow’s own life as an autistic individual but takes those experiences in a new direction.
After writing two nonfiction books detailing his firsthand experiences, Kenslow chose a different storytelling approach for The Tireless Advocate, allowing him to shape real-life experiences into a story designed to resonate with readers, particularly young autistic people.
“I wanted to retell my story, but in a fictional form,” Kenslow said. “Writing fiction gave me the liberty to consolidate stories for brevity, add details for clarity, change the chronology a bit and use the creativity that comes with fiction.”
Like his book’s protagonist, Kenslow overcame bullying and ableism on his way to a career as an advocate and educator. Today, he promotes more awareness, acceptance and inclusion, crediting faith, family, friends and “that light at the end of the tunnel” with helping him persevere.
“Sometimes that light was like a pinpoint, and sometimes it shone brighter,” Kenslow said. “But I just believed that there was a light and a purpose that not only I had — but that everyone else has too.”
The Tireless Advocate: An Epic Journey of One Autistic Who Refused to Surrender
ISBN-13: 979-8234068422
Available from https://www.amazon.com/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Kenslow was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was 6 years old. Today, he is an autism advocate, neurodiversity speaker and the author of three books. He is also a substitute teacher and digital creator with more than a million followers on Instagram. He has appeared on television, radio, magazines and podcasts around the world, including Newsweek, Spectrum News, ABC7 Los Angeles and many more.
For more information, please visit https://matthewkenslow.com/.
Discover more from Michigan Mama News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
