A Window Into Autism Through Poetry: Registry Member, Eileen Coughlin’s Moving Tribute to Her Daughter
Postcards from Autism by Eileen Coughlin | Kelsay Books, 2025
In a heartfelt new poetry collection, Eileen Coughlin, a member of The Registry, invites readers on a deeply personal journey—one that begins in infancy and follows her daughter into adulthood. Her daughter, who is autistic and was adopted from Jiujiang, China, is both the subject and soul of the book. Through verse, Coughlin captures the nuanced, emotional, and at times humorous experience of raising a neurodivergent child.
Each poem in the book is a moment—frozen in time, pulsing with love, struggle, joy, and growth. Some poems will make you laugh. Others might bring you to tears. All are united by a powerful undercurrent: this is what it means to raise a child with a brain that works differently. This is what it means to love and learn from them every day.
Coughlin says her goal wasn’t to write a book just for poetry lovers. She wanted it to be accessible—a literary doorway into understanding autism. And it’s working. Readers have shared that they feel seen, heard, and not alone. One parent who read the book shared that she “felt really heard.” That kind of connection is exactly what Eileen hoped for.
“This is a human story,” she says.
Throughout the book, poems shift between Eileen’s perspective and that of her daughter’s, offering readers a rare and tender look from both sides. One standout poem, Your Body as an Escape Room, speaks to the complexity of existing in a body and mind that can feel like a puzzle—even to oneself. “You live every moment as if yesterday never happened,” Eileen writes. “There is no pattern in your quilt, but the colors are stunning.” The imagery is vivid, immersive, and often raw crafted to resonate regardless of whether the reader has a personal connection to autism.
What emerges from these pages is more than just a story of parenting. It’s about identity, connection, and the incredible variation of the human experience.
Eileen has made herself available to connect with readers, to engage in honest conversations about neurodivergence, and what parenting through that lens really looks like. Her hope is that the book isn’t just read—but felt. She wants readers to be curious about the path, to ask, “What happened next?” and to recognize the threads of shared humanity woven through her family’s journey.
If you would like additional information about the book and its subject, Eileen can be reached at postcards.autism@gmail.com
Two Book reviews:
Captivating, Emotional, and Probes the Complexity of Love and the Fragility of the Human Condition
“For everyone, but especially for those who have had the deep pleasure of knowing, teaching, or loving a neurodivergent individual, each poem in the book takes the reader to a moment in time along the author’s own personal journey with her daughter, immediately connecting the reader to deeply consider their own journey. You certainly will cry or laugh along the way, but, most importantly, each poem gives you, the reader, the time to consider the complexities of love and the fragility of the human condition. Captivatingly expressed and sure to evoke emotions, perhaps those long forgotten, is a must read.”
Honest, Raw, Gorgeous
“As a parent of an autistic child, I’ve never felt more seen. Thank you for sharing this important, beautifully written book with the world.”
A Window Into Autism Through Poetry: Registry Member, Eileen Coughlin’s Moving Tribute to Her Daughter
Postcards from Autism by Eileen Coughlin | Kelsay Books, 2025
In a heartfelt new poetry collection, Eileen Coughlin, a member of The Registry, invites readers on a deeply personal journey—one that begins in infancy and follows her daughter into adulthood. Her daughter, who is autistic and was adopted from Jiujiang, China, is both the subject and soul of the book. Through verse, Coughlin captures the nuanced, emotional, and at times humorous experience of raising a neurodivergent child.
Each poem in the book is a moment—frozen in time, pulsing with love, struggle, joy, and growth. Some poems will make you laugh. Others might bring you to tears. All are united by a powerful undercurrent: this is what it means to raise a child with a brain that works differently. This is what it means to love and learn from them every day.
Coughlin says her goal wasn’t to write a book just for poetry lovers. She wanted it to be accessible—a literary doorway into understanding autism. And it’s working. Readers have shared that they feel seen, heard, and not alone. One parent who read the book shared that she “felt really heard.” That kind of connection is exactly what Eileen hoped for.
“This is a human story,” she says.
Throughout the book, poems shift between Eileen’s perspective and that of her daughter’s, offering readers a rare and tender look from both sides. One standout poem, Your Body as an Escape Room, speaks to the complexity of existing in a body and mind that can feel like a puzzle—even to oneself. “You live every moment as if yesterday never happened,” Eileen writes. “There is no pattern in your quilt, but the colors are stunning.” The imagery is vivid, immersive, and often raw crafted to resonate regardless of whether the reader has a personal connection to autism.
What emerges from these pages is more than just a story of parenting. It’s about identity, connection, and the incredible variation of the human experience.
Eileen has made herself available to connect with readers, to engage in honest conversations about neurodivergence, and what parenting through that lens really looks like. Her hope is that the book isn’t just read—but felt. She wants readers to be curious about the path, to ask, “What happened next?” and to recognize the threads of shared humanity woven through her family’s journey.
If you would like additional information about the book and its subject, Eileen can be reached at postcards.autism@gmail.com
Two Book reviews:
Captivating, Emotional, and Probes the Complexity of Love and the Fragility of the Human Condition
“For everyone, but especially for those who have had the deep pleasure of knowing, teaching, or loving a neurodivergent individual, each poem in the book takes the reader to a moment in time along the author’s own personal journey with her daughter, immediately connecting the reader to deeply consider their own journey. You certainly will cry or laugh along the way, but, most importantly, each poem gives you, the reader, the time to consider the complexities of love and the fragility of the human condition. Captivatingly expressed and sure to evoke emotions, perhaps those long forgotten, is a must read.”
Honest, Raw, Gorgeous
“As a parent of an autistic child, I’ve never felt more seen. Thank you for sharing this important, beautifully written book with the world.”
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