About Us
Different Like Delia began as a way to help my daughter Ava cope with the emotions she experienced surrounding her stutter, and writing our story together served as a distraction from her sober reality.
Meet The Authors
Ann King and Ava Murphy are a mother daughter duo from San Francisco, California. Ava is a stutterer. The two put pen to paper to write a story about a little girl with a stutter. The experience of writing Ava’s story was a therapeutic one. It helped Ava to understand her feelings and hopefully will help others to understand the difficulties a stutterer encounters every day. On this journey, Ava learned that her stutter is an integral part of who she is as a person, and she would not trade the experience. Turning your struggle into your superpower is the message of this wonderful book.
Bringing Delia to life in words and illustrations has been a fantastic adventure for Ann and Ava. It is their hope that Delia will serve as a fashionable and fabulous role model for stutterers and anyone else with a disability or a difference. More importantly, they hope the story encourages people to appreciate the struggles others have and to respond in more loving and helpful ways.
Background
The Inspiration
When our book was first published in 2020, Ava was in eighth grade and Eamon was a senior in high school. Both were in speech therapy for many years and have learned strategies to assist with their fluency. They have both taken the approach to be proud of their stutter and their journey. They want all the stutterers in the world to remember that stuttering is nothing to be ashamed of—the good people in your life are always there to support you.
As they have grown and changed, they both believe that their stutter really is their superpower. Our differences are given to us for a reason and teach us valuable lessons about ourselves and others.
Being their mother has been life’s greatest gift to me. As I have watched them navigate from children to young adults, I am always amazed at their strength and resilience. They have certainly inspired me in my life, and I look forward to many more amazing moments.
Acknowledgements
“I dedicate this story to my wonderful brother, Eamon. Thank you for helping me with my stutter, and for being there no matter what. Over the years, you have been a huge help and major support system. We will always be in it together.”
– Ava
Rose Wright
Editor
Olya Golubeva
Illustrator
Jennifer Katz
Speech Language Pathologist
Rose Wright
Editor
Olya Golubeva
Illustrator
Jennifer Katz
Speech Language Pathologist
