The Boy with the Butterfly Mind (August 11, She Writes Press) by Lorelei Brush is an illuminating new novel that explores the realities many families face but rarely talk about: raising a neurodivergent child while navigating rigid school systems, depression, and the stigma surrounding mental health labels.
Julie Crawford is a high school math teacher who excels at solving problems—until her four-year-old son is suspected of having ADHD and gets kicked out of preschool. With no safe childcare options available, a husband struggling to cope with depression, and a supervisor losing patience with her absences, Julie is forced to confront a problem that logic alone can’t fix.
At its heart, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind is about a mother pushed to her breaking point. As Julie struggles to navigate systems that aren’t built to support neurodivergent children or their families, she must face her own blind spots, family dynamics, and learn how to trust her instincts when it comes to deciding on the best next steps for her son.
This novel opens the door to urgent conversations about ADHD, maternal burnout, and mental health in marriage. It’s intimate, relatable, and deeply relevant right now.
Lorelei Brush is a college mathematics major, a former assistant professor of child development, and the parent of a neurodivergent child. The story in The Boy with the Butterfly Mind mixes elements of all three life experiences to describe the struggles and triumph of a young family dealing with neurodivergence. Her previous novels include Uncovering, about the trials of a nurse practitioner in northwest Pakistan, and Chasing the American Dream, about the quest of a disappointed WWII spy to be a hero in 1950s Cleveland. Lorelei and her husband live in Falls Church, Virginia, with a bossy gray cat named Marabelle.
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