Mentor and protege work together to write book about kind superheroes
"I'm supposed to be helping him, but he's helped me tremendously."
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One is a young professional with autism. The other is a woman with bipolar disorder. First, they became friends - then they became authors.
The fiction room at the Grinnell Library in Wappingers Falls and the community around it are where the magic happens.
"We love people-watching and we love this statue behind us," Lori Tatarsky, 54, said of the window table where she and Dylan Stanet have been working on their book.
Tatarsky was assigned three years ago to mentor Dylan Stanet, 25, through Mental Health America's community habilitation program meant to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live more independently.
"I'm supposed to be helping him," Tatarsky said, "but he's helped me tremendously."
As the two shared their personal stories, they began writing a superhero story and have been refining their characters ever since. Each has a superpower like love, humor or confidence.
Tatarsky and Stanet's own struggles helped shape the story: Tatarsky lives with bipolar disorder and Stanet is on the autism spectrum.
Stanet hopes the story makes some readers feel less alone.
"A major goal of the story is giving people that may have struggles in the real world characters to identify with," Stanet said, "and belief that they can achieve at least a fraction of the things that these super-powered individuals can."
The writing partners have also drawn inspiration from their volunteer work together, including a stint with Meals on Wheels.
"We got to know some of them really, really well," Tatarsky said. "They would invite us in for little snacks and tea. We would build strong relationships with them."
Their book, 'Rising Glory to New Heights,' is just about done, they said.
They are now looking to raise funds to publish and market it.
Once the book is released, they will start selling their next project, a children's book that is also nearly finished.
