Valerie Gilpeer Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Valerie Gilpeer is a published author.

Valerie is not just an author but an attorney, wife, and mother. She has been practicing law for quite some time, over four decades and counting. She would shift her work in her own practice in civil law years ago so that she could work to represent the families with disabled children that were attempting to get educational services awarded to them from the school districts locally.

Valerie has continued her work focusing on disability rights law. She has done this by volunteering through several Los Angeles area-based nonprofit organizations. She has a daughter named Emily and is married to Tom Grodin, Emily’s father. Together they reside in Encino, California.

Valerie is very close to her daughter Emily. Emily happens to be on the Autism spectrum and it is her journey through autism that inspired Emily and Valerie to join forces to write a book about this journey. The book was a memoir that came out in 2021 from William Morrow and is titled I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust.

Emily has attended college, where she studied creative writing, psychology, and journalism. She has also received recognition for her work done academically. The young woman has also had her writing published in Amuse-Bouche and has also been featured in “Leaders Around Me”. Emily does a lot of work for and with the autism community and is proud to be an advocate not only when it comes to herself but for the other members of the community. One of her passions is attempting to dispel many misconceptions held about people that live with autism as well as to reverse the non-acceptance of people living on the spectrum.

Valerie Gilpeer is the co-author of I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust. The book is an incredible look at the real experiences of a mother and a daughter dealing with autism and their struggle to communicate. Based on the true story of Emily Grodin and Valerie Gilpeer, this is not only a remarkable memoir but a one of a kind insightful look into a world that many may think they know but have yet to scratch the surface of.

If you are searching for a great nonfiction book or a well-written memoir to take in, be sure to give this incredible story a chance and follow along as Valerie and Emily dive into the real story of their own lives and what they have gone through– and achieved– together.

I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust: A Memoir of Autism and Hope is the unique and endlessly fascinating story of an autistic daughter and her mother. Written together by Valerie Gilpeer and her daughter Emily, this is the incredible true story of a mother and her daughter that were left without being able to communicate for years until a breakthrough changed everything.

Emily Grodin was a child and then a young woman who never was able to express herself properly. Emily was born with a condition of nonverbal autism. That means that since she was young, for a time period of nearly 25 years, she only was able to communicate through gesturing physically or by using responses of only one word.

Emily’s parents had long known that she was trapped inside of herself and had always seen that she was intelligent. That had never been questioned, since she had shown to them signs ever since she was younger that she knew what was happening in the world and within herself– she simply was not able to express it.

Valerie and Tom worked tirelessly to research and pursue therapies, hoping against hope that she would someday be able to show who she really is. The breakthrough at last happened, something of a miracle, and the interior life of a young woman and a poet was ultimately revealed. When Emily was at last able to write, the first sentence that she wrote was about being buried “under years of dust” and now being able to express herself was ready with “so much to say”.

At 25, Emily had at last broken out of the shell that had been keeping her a prisoner all of these long years. Her parents never gave up on her or on the therapies that would eventually allow her to come out of whatever cage she was in and express herself fully to others. Now able to communicate, Emily at last had the chance that she had long waited for to tell others about what life was like for her.

This memoir is an honest and emotional look into what that journey was like and how Emily gained the ability at last to tell others about what living with autism is like and the many frustrations as well as joys that can come along with living with autism. Now she was able to talk to her parents and at last communicate what her experience had been like, telling them about how it had been when she was younger and give release to all of the feelings she had and all of the inherent intelligence that had never been able to be expressed.

Emily served as their guide now into the world of living with autism, and this memoir may serve as a beacon of light or simply provide more information to parents and guardians of those with autism or even people living with autism themselves. If you have known someone with autism, have autism, or been a caretaker or guide for someone with autism, this book is one that must be added to your reading list.

Written by Valerie and sharing everything from poetry to stories from her daughter, the memoir goes over Emily as a child and the things that led to awakening her ability to communicate, as well as her journey once that ability was awakened. This is the story of one girl as well as one family and full of useful knowledge, stories, inspiration and more. Pick up this memoir for a unique and unforgettable read that you won’t soon forget.