Stephanie Knipper’s book, ‘The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin’ inspired by life experiences

By Vicki Prichard
NKyTribune reporter

The logistics alone would seem to cast Stephanie Knipper’s life as nothing short of an amazing storyline itself: Mother of six young children — five of whom were adopted from China’s special-needs program — who earned her Masters in English from NKU and, during what must have been mere slivers of time, authored her debut novel The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin.

Knipper, who lives in Independence, will launch her book, published by Algonquin, with an event at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati on August 2 at 7 p.m.

Stephanie Knipper set to launch her first novel.

The Peculiar Miracles of Antoinette Martin takes place on a Kentucky flower farm where sisters Lily and Rose Martin, inseparable as children, have come together as adults to protect Rose’s 10-year-old daughter Antoinette who has a severe form of autism requiring constant care.

Though Antoinette has never uttered a word, she has a unique gift — a healing touch, able to bring wilted flowers to life and banish a neighbor’s tremors.

As Rose, who is the center of young Antoinette’s life, struggles with failing health, she and Lily realize the sacrifices necessary to keep Antoinette safe. Knipper’s story centers on the meaning of family, the commitment to protect loved ones, and how it feels to be different.

Grace, Knipper’s 12-year-old special-needs daughter whom she and her husband Stephen adopted from China, is the inspiration for the book’s title character. But a state of grace would also seem to define the Knipper family’s approach life.

A tough first chapter

Knipper says the idea for The Peculiar Miracles of Antionette Martin came from two life experiences.

The first was the birth of her son Zachary.

After many years of infertility, Knipper and her husband had decided to adopt when she became pregnant without any medical intervention. Since they hadn’t been matched with a child yet, they put their adoption plans on hold and were ready to celebrate the joys of the pregnancy. But the pregnancy was not an easy one.

“I became very sick and went into pre-term labor,” says Knipper. “Our son, Zachary, was delivered ten weeks early. Luckily, he was little but healthy. I, on the other hand, was not.”

Knipper developed peritonitis, a life-threatening abdominal infection. She was put on life-support and had a lengthy stay in ICU.

“My husband and my mother were told I wouldn’t live,” says Knipper. “They gathered the family to say goodbye to me.”

Author Stephanie Knipper

Knipper survived, but after six weeks in the hospital, and several surgeries and medical procedures, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. She weighed a mere 87 pounds when she was discharged.

After Zachary’s birth, Knipper says she wondered what it would be like if their story hadn’t had a happy ending. What if instead of being diagnosed with Crohn’s, which is manageable, her diagnosis had been fatal? She wondered what it might be like for a child to grow up knowing that their birth was responsible, though indirectly, for their mother’s death?

“But it wasn’t until we adopted Grace that the story really took shape,” says Knipper. “After adopting Grace, and adjusting to her needs, I started thinking about my story again.”

Finding Grace in China

Once Knipper recovered from her time in the hospital, she and Stephen decided to move forward with their plans to expand their family. With pregnancy out of the question, they turned to adoption again.

Knipper says they decided to go through China’s special-needs program. She says that most of the children in China’s special needs adoption program have what we in the U.S. would consider small needs — cleft palates, limb differences — and, as is Grace’s case, a small heart condition, which had actually been surgically corrected when they adopted her.

In December 2005, the Knippers flew to Nanjing, China to meet their new daughter.

But when they met Grace, Knipper says they knew right away that something was wrong. At 22 months, Grace was unable to hold her head up. She couldn’t walk or sit up, or feed herself or speak. The backs of her legs were covered with welts, and she was so sick that the Knippers had to take her to a hospital in China. They were faced with a decision: either leave Grace in China where Knipper says she would likely be labeled as unadoptable and left to die, or bring her home and face an unknown future.

They brought Grace home.

“I secretly hoped that we would be one of those families where love miraculously cures everything. We weren’t,” says Knipper.

Instead, she says, things went from bad to worse. Grace was diagnosed with tuberculosis, was cast in ankle bracelets, and began having seizures.

“During the first year with Grace, most days ended with me in tears, overwhelmed by all of her needs and the fear that I had ruined our family,” says Knipper.

Gradually, says Knipper, the fear and anxiety ceased.

“Grace began to smile when I entered the room,” says Knipper. “I discovered that she liked me to sing old Gospel hymns and Broadway show tunes. She loved the lamb’s ear in our garden.”

After adjusting to Grace’s needs, Knipper revisited her original story idea again.

“This time I thought: What if the child losing her mother is like Grace? How would a special-needs child handle having a sick mother? With that thought the character of Antoinette was born and the rest of the story fell into place,” she says.

As did the rest of the Knipper family.

Caleb (seated), Grace, Gabrielle, Stephanie, Jonathan, Zachary, Sarah, and Stephen (standing)

A growing family

After life settled down with Grace, Knipper says she and Stephen began to think about adopting more children.

Two factors weighed in on their decision.

They knew that having a child like Grace requires life-long care, and that means taking into account what will happen when they’re longer here to care for the her.

“Having a large family means that many people will share in her care instead of just one,” says Knipper.

Second, the Knipper’s had learned something very important from Grace.

“The second reason was our main reason,” says Knipper. “After Grace we realized that caring for kids with special needs wasn’t the big scary thing we once thought it was. After you get past the surface differences, we’re all pretty much the same.”

Today, the Knipper family includes children with limb differences, spina bifida, Dandy Walker syndrome, and more, says Knipper.

Grace continues to have some severe special-needs. She remains unable to speak, dress herself, or brush her teeth. But, Knipper points out, she’s a fan of slap-stick comedy, loves music and is very social.

“But our kids are more than their physical issues,” she says. “They’re all unique, and their physical struggles are the smallest part of who they are.”

So where did Knipper find the time to write?

That, she says, takes a bit of flexibility.

“During the summer, I write at the kitchen table while the kids are running through the house,” she says. “I set small, easily attainable goals so that I don’t get discouraged.”

She says she tries to write every day, but when the kids need her that doesn’t always happen.

“Like any family, she says, where both parents work, my husband and I divide the childcare duties,” says Knipper. “If I don’t get enough writing done during the day, my husband takes care of the kids when he gets home and I finish working.”

Knipper’s husband Stephen is the Chief of Staff for Kentucky Lt. Governor Janean Hampton.

The value of a good story…and a garden

Knipper, who earned both her BA and her Masters in English from NKU, has high praise for the university’s English program.

“The professors truly care about the students and are vested in helping them succeed,” she says. “They’ve worked hard to create a nurturing environment. Unlike some universities that push students to write in a literary voice, the professors at NKU help students find their own voice and encourage them along that path, no matter the genre.”

Knipper’s love for story was fostered by her parents.

“Luckily, both of my parents valued education, and they both loved reading,” she says.

As a child, she says her mother would take her and her brother to the library every week.

“We read everything,” says Knipper. “I remember loving the “Droofus the Dragon,” and the “Madeline,” books. Then there were the books I returned to over and over again — Bridge to Terabithia, A Wrinkle in Time, The Westing Game, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Chronicles of Prydain. These were the books that made me want to be an author. Now my kids are reading them, which just thrills me.”

It’s no accident that a garden is a key feature of Knipper’s story.

“My father was a chemist by trade, but a farmer at heart,” says Knipper. “He taught me which wild plants were edible and the value of using cocoa shell mulch. He planted strawberries and dug up a patch of the backyard for a vegetable garden.”

Knipper says that although her family didn’t have money for vacations, her parents would take her and her brother to their grandparents’ farm, where they grew strawberries and tobacco. She and her brother would wade through creeks, catch crawdads and eat strawberries fresh from the vine.

“These early experiences shaped me as much as the books I spent hours reading,” says Knipper.

Additional opportunities to meet Stephanie Knipper on her book tour include:

August 10 at 7 p.m. Books and Company in Dayton, OH
August 16 at 7 p.m. Joseph Beth in Lexington
August 18 at 7 p.m. The Book Loft of German Village in Columbus, OH
October 15 all day Books by the Banks, Cincinnati, OH
November 5 all day Kentucky Book Fair, Frankfort