Up Quotes

“I definitely think mothers of children with disabilities have to have extraordinary courage every day...Because we all know our children have value and worth and potential, but the everyday world sometimes doesn’t.'
—Linda Strobel in Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community”
― Ashley Asti, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community

“When I would later ask her, What makes someone beautiful?, she would tell me: 'I think it’s what’s inside someone. I think it’s kindness in someone’s heart that makes them beautiful.' And she would add, 'And it’s how they treat others.' Compassion is beauty, too.”
― Ashley Asti, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community

“I think one of the things I’ve learned as a writer...is that speech is a form of power in this world. As a writer, being able to articulate what other people may be feeling but perhaps struggle to put into words themselves, it is valued. But I also believe we—all of us—communicate in silence, in energy, in a love that extends from our hearts. And, to me, this is another form of inner power.”
― Ashley Asti, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community

“No matter who you are or how you’re born, your arrival deserves to be celebrated.”
― Ashley Asti, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community

“She represents a step toward creating a world where you can have Down syndrome and still dream big. Where you can have Down syndrome and still be seen as beautiful and worthy.”
― Ashley Asti, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community

“I think that’s a special thing...that your daughters will get to grow up and see a woman and a mom who’s making lots of time and space for them, but who’s also making time and space for herself. That changes everything.”
― Ashley Asti, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community

“When children are brought into the world with an extra chromosome—with Down syndrome, that is—the first words parents often hear are, 'I’m sorry,' as if Down syndrome itself is something to be down about. It’s not. I want to say, 'Congratulations.' I want to say, 'What a beautiful gift you’ve brought into the world, one more being here for a reason, here with purpose.' I want to say, 'Oh, mama,' or 'Oh, dad—this new little being is going to lift you up.”
― Ashley Asti, Up: A Love Letter to the Down Syndrome Community