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Kylainah Zacharczuk Pens Memoir of Growing Up as a Sibling to a Special Needs Child

Author Kylainah Zacharczuk has just published her latest intensely personal novel ‘You Can Find Me in Her Shadow.’

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You Can Find Me in Her Shadow
You Can Find Me in Her Shadow

The life of the sibling of a special needs child can be an isolated and complex one. Author Kylainah Zacharczuk has recently published her story You Can Find Me in Her Shadow, where she recounts her life as the sibling to a special needs child. Zacharczuk holds nothing back as she highlights the struggles, feelings, and fears she and her family experienced as they navigate the often lonely and misunderstood space of special needs.

The book started as a journal for Kylainah and took two years to write. Kylainah’s story allows us to experience her perspective as she relates that it felt like she was living two separate lives in two different worlds simultaneously: the world of special needs and the world with the rest of her peers, leaving her to feel as though she didn’t fit in anywhere. In the book, Kylainah insightfully suggests that the sibling, like herself, may be the bridge between these two worlds, as such a child is the product of both.

You Can Find Me in Her Shadow artwork

You Can Find Me in Her Shadow artwork

“My sister and her disability are embedded into fragments of who I am, how I live in this world, how I see the world, and how I feel it, because of my unconditional love for her,” is one of Kylainah’s favourite quotes from the book.

It is Kylainah’s desire to educate others about her experience and show our actions can unintentionally affect the person with the disability and their family. Her goal is to help inspire others to be more compassionate, inclusive and kinder members of society, especially towards the members of the special needs community.

She recounts:

“People worry about my sister, they sometimes think of my parents, but few people thought about me.”

Kylainah’s book launched on November 25th, and her book is available on Amazon and other online outlets.

You can find out more about Kylainah at www.youcanfindmeinhershadow.ca.

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