Another Crescent Moon received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Josh Cook.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
My book is called Another Crescent Moon, and it will be published in October of this year through Better Than Starbucks.
What’s the book’s first line?
“My power chair’s been good to me for years.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a boy and unable to speak, Cliff Emerson has spent his whole life in a wheelchair, completely dependent on others who are either indifferent to him or who have done him more harm than good. But when a new caregiver, Ayodele, enters his life, things start to change. As Ayodele takes the time to understand Cliff’s desires and dreams, he helps Cliff discover the value and purpose he has always wanted from life.
Another Crescent Moon takes a poignant, satirical look at the world of disability care in America as it tells the story of a man searching for his place in the world—and of the transformative power of compassion, understanding, and sacrifice in a society that otherwise makes less and less sense every day.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I spent more than a decade working in several roles in the Medicaid Waiver program in a state in the Midwest. The Medicaid Waiver is a joint effort between the federal and state governments to provide support for people living with developmental disabilities. It was intended to be more community-focused and person-centered than its institutional predecessors: the asylums and hospitals, such as the one Cliff used to live in, where abuse and neglect were commonplace. Over time, I discovered pervasive discrepancies between the mission statements of the agencies that provide Waiver supports and the ways that these supports were actually delivered. The story that Cliff relates at the beginning of Another Crescent Moon, of one of his support staff leaving Cliff and his housemates locked inside their van in the blazing heat to go shopping at the mall, really happened.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
To gain a sense of empathy for those most often overlooked in our society.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Cliff is based on a man I knew and worked with and who has since passed away. His most distinctive attribute is his ability to maintain his humanity, even though the whole world has judged that he is not quite fully human.