As the author of Emmy’s Question, I’m living proof of the adage, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” After my husband, Dennis, and I built a new home near St. Augustine, Florida on a narrow barrier island wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, I began working in earnest on an historical novel I’d been planning to write for many years.

However, just as I was wrapping up the final chapters, my life took a different turn and I set the manuscript aside. A beloved child in our family became a statistic—one of eleven million children in the United States under the age of eighteen with an alcoholic parent. She became our priority as we found ourselves intimately involved in the life of this bright and loving four-year-old, learning first-hand that alcoholism is a family disease.

I started researching everything I could find about children of alcoholics and ran across many heart-wrenching accounts of pain-filled childhoods and broken families. Over time, as our precious little girl struggled to cope with the absence of the mother she dearly loved, I had the opportunity to listen to other children talk about their topsy-turvy worlds. So much hurt—so much anger. As sad as it was, however, these kids were some of the more fortunate ones. They were in programs designed to help them overcome the multiplicity of challenges brought on by a parent’s inability to parent. These children had a chance.

We had witnessed our own loved one grow from a confused, frightened toddler to a confident, sensitive, wonderful child—a survivor—her love and hope for her mother still intact. I wanted to shout from the rooftops the importance of these kids getting help. But how do you do that? Then an exceptional inspiration presented itself.

I had begun working on my historical novel again as our family situation improved. One morning, I was at my computer when I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard her familiar voice. “I’ve been thinking about this,” she said, plopping a journal down on the desk in front of me. “You’re a writer. I want you to take my diary and make a story out of it so other kids like me will know they’re not alone. That even if their parent doesn’t get well, they can still be okay. But they’ve got to ask somebody for help.”

Right then, the novel went back into mothballs and Emmy’s Question was born. Although inspired by the writing and drawings in her diary, not all of the incidents described are factual. I’ve used the stories of other children of alcoholics as well. They share a common pain, and “Emmy” (the name I gave her in the book) became their voice.

The book is carefully researched. An important contact was Jerry Moe, Director of Children’s Services for the Betty Ford Center, and an expert in the field, who critiqued the manuscript to ensure that the information and messages presented were in keeping with current-day understanding of the special needs of these children.

I’m honored to be a part of Emmy’s desire to help other kids. Meanwhile, the manuscript of the historical novel sits waiting.

       -Jeannine Auth


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