Pages of Hope & Humor: The E-book of Sasquatch by Lou Conte
Note: Of course we believe in Sasquatch! We are the age of autism – and we need to find hope, humor, compassion and a good bum, even if it comes from a big, smelly, curious, intuitive, mysterious, prank-loving, justice-seeking Sasquatch. I read Lou Conte’s manuscript many moons ago. Sometimes a book takes you deep into a new world. The Book of Sasquatch takes you into a new world that may sound familiar. Squatch is a new superhero and exactly what we need. Especially with the controversy that ranks high on every news hour, late night comedy show, and likely soon to be on every toilet roll we buy. Sasquatch doesn’t use toilet paper.
We have a signed copy to give away to a lucky Squatch reader. Leave a comment to enter. Order here.
By Anne Dachel
The first question you should ask The book of Sasquatch would be what could a novel about big foot have to do with autism?
Autism advocate Louis Conte masterfully interweaves the story of a boy in the spectrum into the plot of his story about Sasquatch, the highly intelligent, coveted mythical and legendary creature in the northwest.
We are wise in ways beyond your understanding. We were here first.
You humans are the simple ones, see fantasies on TV and hope to find Big Foot.
Sasquatch himself is our narrator in the story about those who haunt him. It also reveals the political unrest in the city of Deception Falls.
Some names are recognizable, such as the wise Judge Holland, who understands Squatch’s intelligence, and “Ralph Offit,” a hunter who “killed everything that can be found in these woods” and who boasted of Big Foot to have shot.
There is also the problem of opposition to a disabled hostel and a young boy named Christopher who has autism. Marianne, his devoted but struggling mother, is worried about his future.
Christopher is nonverbal and has a tendency to leave home. Incredible, Squatch connects to him and can communicate telepathically. Squatch knows what is happening to the boy because Christopher can “speak thoughts”. Squatch, who shows little consideration for people, becomes his protector. Christopher teaches Sasquatch a lot about the human world.
I couldn’t let the boy down.
His own people have left him. His own people poisoned him and avoided him.
I couldn’t.
The use of the word “poisoned” refers to the fact that Christopher’s mother recounts how he was vaccinated as an infant and was called autism.
“When he was a toddler, I took Christopher on a charity baby visit. The pediatrician and nurses smiled as they gave him his injections. A few hours later he had seizures. In the following days he got more and more seizures. Christopher was never the same after these vaccinations. My baby was gone. “
Several analogous things happen in Sasquatch, showing us that respect for the natural environment, the indigenous people and the disabled are inextricably linked. The fate of Sasquatch is our fate too.
Squatch observes the world of people who easily turn on each other and who also want to kill, imprison or experiment on him. The reader is left with the question of who exactly the barbarians are.
I asked Louis how his book was made. He told me this:
I have chosen a number of subjects for this novel.
The book of Sasquatch is a fable.
It draws on Judeo-Christian beliefs, myths and prayers of the Native Americans, Old English (Beowulf), Shakespeare (Shattuck the Gray holds the skull in the cave) and contemporary literature – John Gardner’s Grendel.
It pays homage to the mothers of people with autism. It strikes me that America is numb to what happens to families who have to negotiate about life with a child with autism. I wondered if in this situation they would think of women if the story were told by a nonhuman.
Why not a being that is mythical, magical and yet human where it matters – in the heart, mind and soul?
In the end, it’s about sacrifice, love and redemption and standing up for what’s right, even when you’re alone.
It was my goal that we do not feel alone and that we reconnect our spirit with our myths (especially those of our Indian brothers and sisters), our beliefs and with each other.
That’s why I wrote this crazy story.
