Gretchen Schreiber had a whirlwind return home this past weekend.
The Emporia native had several appearances across the area, including the Emporia First Friday Art Walk, to sign copies of her latest book, “Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal” — as she described, the movie “The Breakfast Club” in a hospital. She tells KVOE News the reaction to her book is affirming.
Schreiber was born with VACTERL Association, a rare combination of physical birth defects that leads to a range of anomalies, including vertebra, kidney, heart, esophagus, trachea, and also limb differences.
This is Schreiber’s third book. She wrote “Ellie Haycock” in about seven weeks, but it took quite a bit more time — two years — to edit into a finished product and get a book deal.
Schreiber is now a “professional bookworm” for actress Reese Witherspoon’s media company, Hello Sunshine. She says Witherspoon’s support has been important for her, whether privately during the writing and editing process or publicly on social media and Witherspoon’s endorsement.
“Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal” is available on Amazon and other online retailers as well as bookstores.
