Riverhead reads: Former teacher pens story about Down syndrome

Riverhead’s Virginia Nolan always loved writing, but it wasn’t until she retired from teaching that she took that love to the next level. Her novel, Loving Michael: Everyone Has Special Needs, chronicles a couple’s journey of acceptance for their child with Down syndrome.

The novel begins with a young unmarried couple, Tom and Jamie, and their unexpected pregnancy. The child is born with Down syndrome. While Tom loves this child and refers to him as his little Superman, Jamie has more difficulty accepting this baby.

Ms. Nolan, born and raised in the Bronx by her first-generation immigrant parents, taught at Mount Sinai High School for many years. Her cousin with Down syndrome lends his name to the main character.

“I retired back in ’97, a long time ago, and I started to write. One of my favorite classes to teach was creative writing at the high school level,” said Ms. Nolan. “I volunteer a lot working with children, and I was working with Down syndrome children. So this book, Loving Michael: Everyone Has Special Needs, is fiction, but it has a lot of non-fiction in it.”

Ms. Nolan’s advice for aspiring writers is to take time each day to write, even if it’s just a paragraph.

“I write almost every day, because I love to write,” Ms. Nolan said. “It could be anything, something that happened that day or a thought that came into my head. So I encourage everyone to keep a journal.”

Loving Michael: Everyone Has Special Needs is available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.