Q: First tell us something about yourself?
My name is Jamilah Bashir. I am a lover of all things regarding special education. It is truly my passion. Although I am not an artsy person, I LOVE the arts (live performances, museums, the theater, spoken word, etc). Traveling is apart of my self care and I enjoy visiting different countries and learning about their culture. Last but certainly not least, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends.
Q: How and when did your journey start as a writer?
I began my journey with writing my book in November 2017. I attended a writers workshop and the focus was on writing a book. One of the activities was to respond to a prompt, if you could write a book about anything what would it be and why. My little sister came to mind. She has an intellectual disability and I thought it would be great to write about what it was like growing up with a sibling with a disability. I thought this would be great because I had only heard of parents sharing their stories and the rest is history.
Q: When did you write your first story? Is it published or not?
My book Because of H.E.R. was self published in May 2018
Q: Tell us something more about your books?
My book is a true story of what it was like growing up with a sibling with a disability and told from the sibling perspective. I share the struggles of having a sibling with a disability and the blessings.
Q: Why do you choose kids as your reader ? is there any specific reason?
I chose to gear my story to children because Im telling my story from a childs perspective. I decided to do that because you dont hear a childs narrative on such a serious topic. I thought it was very important for me to give a voice to children that may have a similar expereince as me or child that has had a lot of responsibility put on them at a young age.
Q: How did these stories and characters come to your mind?
My story is a true story so I didnt have to think of characters. Writing my story had been on my mind for a long time and going to the writers workshop really got the wheels rolling in my head to eventually write my book.
Q: Do you want to leave any message for your readers?
Thank you for purchasing my book! Please follow me at @theiepcoachllc and leave me a review. Thank you!
