Having a child is an experience that changes lives forever. For Marilyn Chappell and her husband Chris, expanding their family eight years ago to include their second daughter, Skylar, became a memorable journey that Marilyn is sharing with the world in her newly published book entitled, “The Children Who Had Roses for Noses.”

Chappell, together with illustrator, Richard Dobbs, Jr., hopes the story will help everyone who reads it open their hearts and minds to persons with special needs. “When I was pregnant with Skylar,” Chappell explains, “I had the AFP test and a level two ultrasound that indicated my baby had Down syndrome. The doctors wanted me to have more tests, but my husband and I said, enough. We were going to accept and love our child no matter how she came to us.”

About eight months into the pregnancy, Chappell said her “wheels started spinning” about how they would prepare for a child with a disability. “I went to a dinner party with some friends and colleagues, and spoke to someone who was sharing that he was writing a play that would be a legacy for his family after he was gone. It was on my mind when I went home that night, and I guess because I was already thinking about the experience I would be going through, I knew I wanted to get my feelings down on paper and quickly. I wrote the book that night.”

The story Chappell wrote that night is now her first published children’s book about two young sisters who are unique because they both have a rose nose instead of a regular nose. Skylar, the youngest rose nose child, encounters a boy on the playground who makes fun of her. With the help of her loving parents and the example of her older sister, she learns that it’s OK to be special and have special needs.

Initially, Chappell said she only shared the story she wrote with her family. Skylar was born a month after Chappell put her thoughts on paper. All the tests Chappell endured during the pregnancy that pointed to Down syndrome turned out to have been false results caused by other complications with the pregnancy. Skylar was born without Down syndrome or any other medical conditions. “I had put the story away after Skylar’s birth, but I always knew I wanted to still get it published. I worked with kids with disabilities as a dance specialist at a Wake County magnet school. I loved the innocence, the simplicity, and the joyful movement these kids brought into my life. I knew the story I wrote should be shared.”

Chappell enlisted the help of her friend, “a brilliant graphic artist” she clarifies, Richard Dobbs, Jr. When she approached Dobbs about doing the project, he read the story and shared with Chappell that he grew up with an older sister, Katherine (Kandy), who had Down syndrome. The story Chappell wrote reflected some of what Kandy’s world was like. “My sister is 46 now, says Dobbs. “She works a job through special programs and is a really happy person. People just really like her. I do remember being a kid and my friends making fun of her, or people staring at us when we went out in public. For me, she was just my sister, just one of our family. She wasn’t different to me. This is some of what this story is about.”

“Although we planned this project about three years ago,” Dobbs explains, “I kept putting it on a back burner. I worked on it, but slowly. Just recently I lost my job at an ad firm, so I had more time to work on it. It moved off the back burner and now, here it is. For me it’s like coming full circle. It’s a story that helps people understand differences and it helps me give back to the special needs community.”

Dobbs spent time with the Chappell family taking photos to base his illustrations on. “He’s brilliant visually, “Chappell says. “He took pictures of our family that includes my oldest daughter Ellie, my husband, Skylar, and me. From those photos, he developed drawings. I asked him to base the illustrations on my girls, but not to make the drawings look exactly like them.”

Dobbs said he also incorporated a tribute to his late mom by replicating a character from her likeness, and he used his own eight year old daughter, Isabella, as a model for one illustration.

Chappell and Dobbs hope that the book becomes popular and can produce enough revenue that they can put back into special needs programs in the community. Chappell already runs a free dance program once a month for persons with disabilities called, “Shining Stars.”

“Our Shining Stars program is so special to me,” Chappell assures with a big smile. “It brings me more joy in that one hour than anything else I can think of. These kids are so accepting. There’s no judgment, and they love being here in the dance school. It’s a place for them to come and have a place of their own. Spend an hour with them and you see that other stuff just does not matter. It’s just very joyful.

It’s a great thing for our community and Richard and I would like to be able to bring more programs like this to Holly Springs and help support some of the other programs in town.”

Chappell believes “The Children Who Had Roses for Noses” story transcends age and abilities. “It’s a timeless story because we all have self doubts. We are all self conscious. This story reminds us to embrace differences. There was such a purpose to my journey with Skylar. Anytime your perspective to compassion is broadened, that’s’ a good thing.”

“The Children Who Had Roses for Noses” is available for purchase exclusively on www.Lulu.com.