The Maddiverse Saga

Taking place primarily in a fictionalized version of Springfield, the world of The Simpsons, The Maddiverse began as a world imagined while I endured cancer treatment, recognizing the toll my unexpected illness was taking on my children and searching for a way to bring joy to their lives.
The Maddiverse Saga is, at its core, a love letter to my 13 year old daughter, Maddi. We have come to understand our Autistic Love Language of Special Interests, a term used to describe the narrow but deep set of interests we have.

Considering Maddi's evolution of Special Interests spawned the idea to turn my drawings into a multiversal tribute to not only Maddi, but to the Autistic Community altogether. The way we invest ourselves in our Special Interests makes us a wealth of knowledge on those topics - sometimes leading to ridicule for being so invested in things which may appear as trivial to neurotypical outsiders, but are anything but trivial to us. In a world which often greets autistics with rejection, escaping to imaginative fantasy worlds is a common way to escape.

Fans of The Simpsons will find humor in the easter eggs dropped throughout The Maddiverse. To readers who are autistic and feel unseen - I hope this book's manifestation of the autistic imagination empowers you with a sense of belonging.

Ultimately, though, I wrote this book to serve an audience of one.

Maddi: this book is for you. I have mapped out this story with you at its center. I'll continue weaving the tale my imagination has conjured just for you throughout this year. I have planned exciting twists & turns which this saga will take us on this year, and I am so happy to have you join me on this ride. Keep reading to see what is around each corner. Will it be more danger for Maddi and her team of allies? Is it another shocking twist which turns the story on its head? Or will another of your beloved Special Interests mysteriously find its way through the portal into the Maddiverse?