Conversations with Alexandra Sanchez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Sanchez.

Hi Alexandra, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Albuquerque, NM and the library was always one of my favorite places to go as a kid. So I’ve always been a bookworm and would make books at a really young age.

When I was 21 and I had my first daughter, Okelani. She spent two months and 10 long days in the NICU before she ever came home because she started having seizures at birth and they were hard to control. I started reading to my baby in the NICU as a way to bond with her and it’s just something that continued and soon we would share our love for books with my youngest daughter Kamea.

Okelani eventually got diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and got her first wheelchair stroller when she was a toddler. Spending a lot of time at libraries and buying books I noticed a lack of books with disabled characters and it gave me the idea to write my first children’s book.

I didn’t write it for years and it was just a dream I had. Until I completely had to start over after my fashion dreams didn’t work out, cause I’m also a designer. It was definitely a process but I’m so happy I started it. And I am so proud of it. The book is called “Okelani’s Enchanted Wheelchair Spacebound! “ Starring my daughter! My main goals of writing this book were for the representation of kids in wheelchairs, raising disability awareness, starting much-needed conversations, encourage inclusion and start some friendships!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There was a lot of obstacles along the way. As a single mother and caregiver with limited resources and help, I struggled for years on top of dealing with a lot of hospital stays and surgeries for Okelani, my daughter. It was very overwhelming to have all of that on me alone and making time to write my book. The year I published it. 2020, was an especially hard year for my family. Okelani had the biggest surgery of her life one that I was really scared for her to have because she was high risk. It was a rough one and she ended getting an infection which was one of the risks. She spent way too much time at the hospital right in the middle of the pandemic starting. There’s so many details I can’t even get into. I also had no idea what I was doing and how to find an illustrator and it took a while but I ended finding the most amazing artist, Sheila Fein. I self-published my book in December 2020.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a mother/caregiver first and most importantly. I am the Author of “Okelani’s Enchanted Wheelchair Spacebound! “ an Inclusive fairy tale, I’m hoping to spread disability awareness to kids and encourage inclusion. I am the founder of Kamoke Publishing, named after my daughters Kamea and Okelani. I am currently working on book 2 of my series “Okelani’s Enchanted Wheelchair”.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
My ambition and determination. I’ve always had big dreams and wanted more out of life. I’m not scared to pursue them even when I fail I don’t let it stop me I will start over and won’t give up. My dreams and family keep me going and give me purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: Kamokepublishing.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/Kamoke_Publishing
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Kamokepublishing