Rescue and Jessica: An Interview About a Life-Changing Friendship
One year after getting married, Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes decided to swing by the 2013 Boston Marathon to watch the runners before they crossed finish line. That’s when the bombs exploded. Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship is a picture book based on the real-life relationship between double-amputee Jessica and her service dog Rescue.
Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship
Hardcover $16.99
Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship
By
Luisa Tender
,
Patrick Downes
Illustrator
Scott Magoon
In Stock Online
Hardcover $16.99
Co-written with her husband, Patrick, who’s also an amputee as a result of the bombing, Jessica wrote this story to demystify physical disabilities and illustrate the benefits of service dogs. Jessica and Rescue were paired six months after her final operation and had an immediate bond. Though Jessica was an adult when she met Rescue (versus a girl, which is how she is depicted in the picture book), the book accurately depicts the physical assistance and the emotional support that Rescue provides in real life.
Co-written with her husband, Patrick, who’s also an amputee as a result of the bombing, Jessica wrote this story to demystify physical disabilities and illustrate the benefits of service dogs. Jessica and Rescue were paired six months after her final operation and had an immediate bond. Though Jessica was an adult when she met Rescue (versus a girl, which is how she is depicted in the picture book), the book accurately depicts the physical assistance and the emotional support that Rescue provides in real life.
Rescue and Jessica is illustrated by Scott Magoon, who ran the Boston Marathon in 2013; he was between the bombs when they went off and was unharmed. Jessica and Patrick have become leading disability advocates, including introducing legislation with Senator Elizabeth Warren granting special rights for rehabilitation to trauma victims. And Rescue was the ASPCA’s 2017 “Dog of the Year.”
Rescue & Jessica invites young readers to feel pain, sorrow, and anxiety. You seem to trust that kids have a huge capacity for compassion, and the ability to face fears?
Jessica and Patrick: It is so important to find ways to tell children the truth in ways that they can comprehend. If we tell kids that honesty is the best policy, then we as adults ought to mirror it, even when it’s incredibly hard. Kids are already experiencing all of the emotions you named so we ought to help them acknowledge and normalize them.
We have found that kids ask the best questions. One young boy asked us if we can swim, and how our prosthetics work when we’re swimming. It was clearly based of his love for the water and he was trying to empathize with our experience now that we’re amputees. We told him how therapeutic the water has been for us, but how hard it is because most of our prosthetics aren’t meant to get wet. They also make it hard to walk on sand, or cause people to stare. But we told him there are special prosthetics for swimming.
A young girl once asked Jess about how she takes care of Rescue when he’s sick. Her question was so beautiful because she was acknowledging all of the ways Rescue is there for Jess, but that he has bad days too. She was also acknowledging that caring for Rescue might be a little harder for Jess, and you could tell she was trying to make sense of all of it in her head. Jess explained that Rescue does sometimes get sick and needs to go to the vet, and that sometimes she will take Rescue, but that sometimes she isn’t having a good day either, so we ask for our family or friends to help us care for Rescue.
Children’s faces are so expressive so when they ask their questions we’re also given a window into their emotions and experiences and that’s what makes our conversations with them so rich. We come away from them feeling a renewed sense of curiosity and wonder.
Rescue, despite not having been trained as an emotional support animal, has helped you on this journey to recovery. I see that Rescue will be joining you for your book tour. How will Rescue will be supporting you on the road?
Patrick: A 10-city book tour is a huge commitment for us. Beyond the time and energy, we have found traveling to be incredibly hard and unwelcoming. TSA checkpoints, inaccessible hotels, and misunderstanding airplane passengers provide us with ample emotional and physical triggers. Despite all of this, Rescue has an incredibly calming and reassuring presence. Even when we are tired or frustrated, Rescue has a way of lifting our spirits like nothing else can. And his accompaniment of Jess in unfamiliar places will give her the confidence and comfort as we travel from city to city. If she needs help—like if she forgets to put a towel on her wheelchair before getting in the shower, or she leaves a light on—Rescue will be there to rise to the occasion.
Jessica, your husband Patrick said that working on Rescue & Jessica pulled you “out of the darkness” and gave you something to smile about. Can you say more about this?
Jessica: We wrote the book while we were living at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and I seemed to always be either having surgery or recovering from surgery. It was a time marked by extreme depression and hopelessness…and at some point, I remember thinking I’d never get better or regain any kind of quality of life worth living. Patrick and I certainly had lots of things we should have been working on like: paying bills, figuring out the mountains of insurance paperwork, or responding to hundreds of emails but those tasks were unpleasant and overwhelming. Channeling Rescue’s voice was light and fun. Sharing the drafts and edits with Clelia Gore, our dear friend and book agent, was entertaining and lighthearted.
Silent Days, Silent Dreams
Hardcover $21.99
Silent Days, Silent Dreams
By Allen Say
Hardcover $21.99
One of my close friends is a recent amputee and my five-year-old has asked many questions about her prosthetic leg and her wheelchair. When young people see someone with a disability and start asking questions, do you have any advice for parents about what to say/not say to their children?
One of my close friends is a recent amputee and my five-year-old has asked many questions about her prosthetic leg and her wheelchair. When young people see someone with a disability and start asking questions, do you have any advice for parents about what to say/not say to their children?
Jessica and Patrick: Yes, children just want to learn…they wear their fascination on their sleeve. Over the last few years we’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on what it means to be human, and one truth we are certain of is that we’re all born with love and acceptance in our hearts. That is never more evident than when a child encounters someone who is different. I always love talking to kids when we meet them out in public and welcome their questions and curiosity. At the very least parents can talk with their kids about what they observed. I think parents ought to ask children what they think the person with a disability has experienced or is feeling. They might be surprised by how their son or daughter picks up on the potential for pain or sadness as they imagine the physical injury. They may also have some keen observations about the type of medical equipment being used (wheelchair, prosthetics, crutches, etc.). It’s also very important to highlight all of the things that person IS able to do.
I also think it’s important for parents to give accurate answers and not teach their children to make assumptions. For example, if a child asks, “What happened to that lady?” a parent might answer, “There are lots of reasons you can have a leg amputated. Some people are born like that, some people have diseases, are in terrible accidents, and sometimes people badly hurt other people.”
Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess
Paperback $11.95
Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess
By Shari Green
Paperback $11.95
Do you have other books to recommend for young readers about someone living with a disability?
Do you have other books to recommend for young readers about someone living with a disability?
Jessica and Patrick: We have taken great interest in the books awarded the Schneider Family Book Award. Their selection committee has had such a keen and progressive eye with regard to how disability is presented in children’s literature. This year’s recipients Allen Say’s picture book Silent Days, Silent Dreams, and Shari Green’s Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess, which both work to demystify disability, specifically hearing loss and deafness.
We are really proud that our book will eventually have a Braille version and an audiobook format to make it as accessible as possible to children of all abilities. We hope that as disability continues to make its way into national and international media that people will also invest in communicating these differences to children.
Rescue & Jessica will be on B&N bookshelves April 3.