DRWF Podcast: “Spend less time scrolling and more time reading”
Author Mia R. Donovan was inspired to write about type 1 diabetes after her younger brother was diagnosed with the condition aged nine.
As a passionate advocate for type 1 diabetes, Mia R. Donovan has made it her mission to spread awareness of the condition using her affinity for writing.
Mia’s new book Dybo Boy will be published on 1st November to coincide with Diabetes Awareness Month – and to celebrate, all proceeds will be very kindly donated to DRWF.
The book is beautifully illustrated by artist Sarah Lambate and published by RosePrint and will be available as an e-book and in print format.
The book aims to help young people understand more about type 1 diabetes – and in the case of the lead character, learn to see the condition as a gift.
Interview with author Mia R. Donovan on her latest book for children with a type 1 diabetes storyline.
The DRWF Living with Diabetes podcast recently caught up with Mia to tell us more about how a diagnosis in her family of type 1 diabetes inspired her new book.
DRWF: You have a new children’s book coming out very soon. Can you tell us about the book?
Mia R. Donovan: I am very passionate about children’s literacy levels and I advocate for kids to spend less time scrolling and more time reading.
“This November is Diabetes Awareness Month and to celebrate the sheer bravery of a lot of young people living with type 1 diabetes across the globe, I will be releasing Dybo Boy, which is a picture book for young children who have been diagnosed with the condition and are unsure of how to navigate this new and exciting venture.”
Picture: Dybo Boy by Mia R. Donovan and illustrated by Sarah Lambate is published to coincide with Diabetes Awareness Month in November
“Diagnosis is not a weakness”
Mia: “Dybo Boy is the heroic tale of a hero with type 1 diabetes, and the book teaches children that this diagnosis is not a weakness, an ailment, or a chore, but a strength gift and something to fight for. The story goes in depth on how people living with type 1 diabetes must use their new arsenal of gizmos and gadgets to take care of themselves, to spread positivity and, of course, to use their new superpowers for good.”
DRWF: You have a family connection with type 1 diabetes. Can you tell us about your experiences and how did this inspire you to write the book?
Mia: “When I was aged 12, my younger brother was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged nine. This was back in 2015, and when this happened, it really did send shockwaves throughout our family. None of us were familiar with the condition whatsoever. We were quite shocked when we learned that my brother would have to monitor his blood glucose levels from now on and administer insulin before meals, or if his levels spike too high.
“This was really quite a scary time for our family. But we navigated his diabetes together and supported him as always, through thick and thin with the new diagnosis. And obviously that has then transpired into a story dedicated to people living with type 1 diabetes and inspired by his journey. Because I felt at the time when he was diagnosed, there were not really a lot of resources. This is going back about ten years now, but even when I look in bookstores, I don’t see much for young people living with the condition to really understand it in a fun way. That is how I came up with Dybo Boy.”
DRWF: From your experience, what do children have to contend with following a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes?
Mia: “It is one of those things where itis hard at first not to think of it as a life sentence. I think a lot of people do, they worry about it for their child or the child themselves will think, well, what does my future look like? It has the potential to create upheaval in someone’s life only if you let it. I think for kids having todeal with all these different things about injecting, checking your blood glucose levels, it is quite overwhelming.
“It only has a negative impact if you allow it to be so. There is no use dwelling on the diagnosis or wishing that it didn’t happen. Instead, that energy should be channelled into the positive elements of diabetes. There are a lot of positives that I think are glossed over that I really think a lot of parents and children should be looking at and saying, well, yes, this might be difficult for now, but it won’t be, and we’ll get through it together. And these are the positive sides of diabetes.”
DRWF: Your brother will have experienced, along with the family, the huge changes in those ten years since diagnosis. New developments from needles to continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps – the whole range of goods that are on offer to young people. I expect his life has been changed by some of those massively.
Mia: “I think back to when he was first diagnosed, and it is completely different now. He was given an insulin pen to inject. He had to use a little blood glucose monitor. He pricked his fingers.
Now it is completely different. He has a sensor on his arm. He has a pod on his leg. It is so, so different. And I do feel that children nowadays, they are so lucky that they have all this technology. But there are still even more advancements to be made, and in another ten years, when children are diagnosed, it may be completely different to what it is like now. I think that it is also really exciting to think about how advanced we are becoming when it comes to diabetes care.”
DRWF: Who is the illustrator of the book?
Mia: “The book is illustrated by Sarah Lambate and she is just phenomenal. She illustrated the cover of my first novel, and now she is illustrating Dybo Boy. She has done an excellent job on the cover, and I can’t wait to see what the finished pages of the picture book look like.
“Sarah is based in India and she absolutely loves getting to create all these beautiful drawings for writers like myself. She also has an online store called SaraHana Studio; you can get all of her stickers, original artwork, posters, the lot. It’s just fantastic.”
Picture: Mia R. Donovan hopes to inspire young people with type 1 diabetes to live a positive life with the condition
DRWF: You have made the offer of a very generous donation to DRWF during Diabetes Awareness Month in November.
Mia: “For the month of November, Diabetes Awareness Month, 100% of the profits from each sale of Dybo Boy will be donated to DRWF.
“This applies to every single copy of the picture book sold across all platforms that it is available on, and this includes the e-book edition.
“I think Diabetes Awareness Month is so important in advocating for this condition and spreading awareness. I hope that my book can be a part of that.
“I don’t want children thinking type 1 diabetes is a scary diagnosis because it is really not. There is nothing to fear. And like Dybo Boy, these children now
have a gift that is very special to them.”
Listen to the interview in full here
Dybo Boy by Mia R. Donovan and illustrated by Sarah Lambate is published by RosePrint and available as an e-book and in print format via Amazon here from 1st November to coincide with Diabetes Awareness Month.
Mia has very generously offered to donate all profits from sales of the book in November to DRWF.
Read more about type 1 diabetes
For more information about the 4Ts, read the DRWF Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes information leaflet here
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