Maria Schiffer asked Patricia Wood:

I'm befuddled and amazed by the fact you wrote an entire book from the perspective of a man with an IQ of 76. It was so "real" and believable. It's one thing to pretend you are a freedom fighter in the French Resistance, but quite another to pretend you have the mental capacity of someone who is borderline "retarded" (sorry, Perry). What tools did you use to write as though you were Perry? Incomprehensible!

Patricia Wood I believe part of being a good story teller and to create a believable story is to have the capacity to imagine your characters and to "be" them. The authenticity is added to by personal experience - for example my brother-in-law was affected with Down Syndrome and my PhD work involved disability studies- the combination of all of those factors aided in the creation of Perry. Thanks for a great question!

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