“What color do you see for Monday?” my son Jack asked as I heaved a chicken into the oven. “What?” I said distractedly, turning from the oven to slice some potatoes at the counter. It was late afternoon one day last fall, and I was preparing dinner and managing the demands of homework and tired toddlers. (One was in a tiara.)
“What color is Monday?” he asked again, his robotic voice rising ever so slightly in irritation. “I don’t see Monday as a color. Do you?” I asked, finally tuning in to what he was talking about.
“Yes. All days are colors.”
All days are colors. On a seemingly ordinary day, Jack once again granted me the privilege to take a tiny peek inside his fascinating mind. Without preamble, he rattled off which color he associates with each day. And then, just as suddenly as the conversation began, he snapped his mind closed and moved on to something else entirely. I tried to probe further; why was Saturday purple? Was the entire day purple, or just the morning? “I told you. No more.” he responded in a clipped tone.
Out of our discussion, a book title was born. Riddle Brook Publishing has asked me to write a book based on our life with an autistic child. I originally wanted to call the book Thursday is Purple, but a couple of weeks ago Jack off-handedly remarked that Thursday is sometimes green. (Come on, Jack-a-boo. I’m trying to write a book about you here. For real.)
And so, What Color is Monday? it is.
December 8, 2015 @ 10:29 pm
Very insightful hearing about Jack!
I too see days as colors. As well as numbers, letters, and colors,… but I am not autistic. I imagine you are already aware of this while doing your research and I don’t mean to impose, but in case you had not discovered it, that condition is called Synesthesia. I love being synesthetic like Jack. Just wanted to share that there are many of us whom relate to that particular interesting characteristic of young Jack and wouldn’t want it any other way. Just sharing. 😀
Beautiful work Mom!
Pamela Hunter
October 16, 2016 @ 6:04 am
Hi Carrie,
I chanced upon your book while I was looking for inspirational reads on autism. I gained lots of insights through your book; from both Jack and your family. You have spurred on my passion to pursue a career in special education and I wish you and your family the best 🙂 Thank you for your sharing and I truely enjoyed reading the journey you had thus far. Keep going and believe!
Cheers,
Sin Yao
October 10, 2018 @ 11:44 pm
I work for Girls Inc of NH and I saw that you were an honoree at this year’s Women of Achievement Brunch. The title of your book caught my attention because I have synesthesia. (For the record, Monday is yellow! I agree to purple Saturday and Thursday is always green!) I looked you up and since I work with kids on the spectrum along with my time at Girls Inc, now I’m even more intrigued! Unfortunately I can’t make it to the brunch. I hope you find this comment though! Thank you for sharing the story of your son with us!
September 28, 2023 @ 4:11 am
So happy I came across your blog. When I read that he associates color with days of the week, I thought of the colors of the rainbow.. When you said that as per jack, “Thursday is sometimes green”. Thursday is green! Monday is red, Tuesday is orange, Wednesday is yellow, Thursday is green, friday is blue, Saturday is indigo (confusing color) and sunday is violet! when you responded to him saying you “don’t see monday as a color” after he asked you about what color monday is.. he shut down because you questioned him when he was hoping you would say that you saw the same color that he did. He was looking for validation. 🙂