Holly Robinson Peete is hoping to inspire others with her new Young Adult Fiction book, Same But Different. The story is inspired by her kids, Ryan and Rodney Jr., and their journey through life together as twins.
In the book, Ryan’s character, Callie, is ready to become independent of her brother when her sophomore years of high school arrives. While she is not happy about Charlie needing to repeat the ninth grade a second time, she is excited about the idea of them not being in the same class. Meanwhile, Charlie must navigate the world of high school without his sister right by his side, which means preparing to deal with bullies who highlight his autism.
Same But Different is a great depiction of the struggles that autistic children endure on a daily basis. The story serves as a ray of hope to parents who may feel that their children will never obtain the independence needed to thrive in society.
“We want to share our story because so many families out there don’t have a lot of hope,” says Holly. “[Rodeny Jr.] was told he would never do a lot of things. His diagnosis day, we call the ‘never day’ because [the doctors] went down this list of all the nevers; that he would never make friends, never go to mainstream schools. [There were] so many things,” she shares. “He’s checked many of those off his list.”
Holly Robinson Peete has four kids with her husband, Rodney Peete Sr. Learn more about the actress’ book here.
