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SPCK snags debut by TikTok couple John and Jade Reynolds
SPCK has acquired the first book by Jade and John Reynolds, an interabled couple with one million social media followers.
World rights to Able to Laugh: Finding joy though the struggle is real were acquired by publisher Elizabeth Neep directly from the authors, and the book will be published on the 17th October 2024.
Jade Reynolds, who has a rare condition which left her paralysed and in a wheelchair from the age 12, and her husband John use social media “to dispel the stigma surrounding disability, and celebrate interabled love”.
The couple has 639,000 followers on TikTok alone. Able to Laugh is pitched as “part self-help, part autobiography and all hilarity.”
Jade said: “I’ve lost count of the amount of times people have told me I should write my story, but I never wanted to become some poster girl for disability. It was only when I realised that my story was so much more than that that I finally felt comfortable sharing it. In a world where unexpected trauma is probably inevitable for all of us at some stage, I want to bring laughter and joy through my journey, with the hope that others might feel less alone and more seen in theirs. It’s an honest admission of how hard life can be, but also how much joy can be found, even when, or perhaps especially when, life doesn’t go to plan. Life is tough, but life is also what you make it and I hope this book emboldens others to enjoy life as much as I do.”
John said: “The biggest reason I fell in love with Jade was her resilient and joyful character. Many years before we dated, she first shared some of her story with me, and I remember being blown away then by her attitude and outlook. Unsurprisingly, ever since, I’ve been one of the many badgering Jade to share her story. Over the past few years we’ve been humbled by how people on social media have been both connecting with our humour, family stories and disability banter, but also really inquisitive about our relationship and her life, and I think that has played a huge part in giving her the confidence to share more of it with others.
"We love how our videos have helped those with disabilities feel more seen, but also how they’ve normalised disability for those with little experience of it. That being said, this isn’t a book about disability. This is a book about a child who went through something incredibly traumatic, but has leant on her faith and sense of humour and become a remarkable woman”.
Editor Lauren Windle said: “It’s been an honour to work on Jade and John’s book Able to Laugh, and its message of sheer joy and resilience in the face of adversity. Jade and John have a warm and wonderful sense of humour, which shines through the book like a beacon, bathing even their darkest experiences in a glow of persistent hope.”
