Kam Redlawsk’s experience with a rare degenerative disease inspired the premise behind her picture book Yumi and Monster, a tale of resilience and acceptance. An accomplished industrial designer born in South Korea and raised in Michigan, Redlawsk had been living with GNE myopathy, a progressive illness resulting in muscle weakness, for several years. “I had been told that I wouldn’t see treatment in my lifetime,” she told PW.

But the Korean American adoptee found that wasn’t true after later moving to California, where she realized there were others like her and began blogging about her experience. “I then thought that maybe what I was trying to express in words would be beneficial as a creative form of illustration,” she said of her initial drawings. Redlawsk was beginning to lose her mobility at this point and was no longer able to walk or drive.

Her illustrations took on new meaning after she sustained a bad fall—a moment that would prove to be a source of artistic inspiration. While waiting for her husband to return home and help her off the floor, Redlawsk envisioned what she describes as a “furry, gray foot. I thought he was the reason for all my falls and struggles and realized that I was experiencing a relationship with my rare disease,” she explained.

Redlawsk began drawing what she had imagined as a personification of her condition: a story of a girl and a quiet and mysterious monster who forces her to confront her physical limitations. Securing Lilly Ghahremani as her agent and Maria Russo, then at Astra Books for Young Readers, as her editor, she began to flesh out the details, choosing to emphasize Yumi’s perseverance and personal growth. “She goes through a series of emotions that we all go through: initial fear, anger, sadness… all of these can be walls and barriers that prevent us from seeing any other aspect of the situation, such as a disability,” Redlawsk said.

But when Russo was unexpectantly laid off and Redlawsk’s book was removed from the publisher’s line-up, the future of Yumi and Monster looked grim. Russo was determined to keep this book with her and was inspired by the author to advocate for its publication. “I love Kam’s whole sensibility—her wise and compassionate literary voice and that striking, super-hip art,” Russo said. “I felt Kam could take readers on an exciting and meaningful ride with this character she created. She broke my heart a thousand times over, then put me back together again.”

After joining Union Square Kids as editor at large and receiving the green light from editorial director Tracey Keevan, Russo was able to reconnect with Redlawsk and move the almost-finished manuscript forward. In a race against the clock, with an eye toward Redlawsk’s decreasing mobility, the book was completed just in time. “I can no longer grasp a pen,” the author said. “That’s what’s unique about a progressive disability; you are always losing. And that’s what Yumi and Monster is essentially about: you’re constantly experiencing grief and loss and how you’re going to deal with that when that’s going to be a part of your life forever.”

Gray Area

When designing her characters, Redlawsk leaned into her signature palette of soft grays with an occasional pop of color (seen in Yumi’s red cane). She mainly prefers neutral tones for their aesthetic appeal, as showcased in much of her other work—a choice that suited this story. “I wanted to show that there are grays in every situation,” Redlawsk said. “When Yumi is looking at other aspects of life, she realizes, ‘Hey, I can still explore; it’s just going to look different. It’s going to be better if I can accept this monster and integrate him into my life rather than constantly battling him.’”

Equally significant is Redlawsk’s choice to render Monster as a creature of few words, one whose quiet presence both frustrates and calms Yumi. “I really wanted him to have one core phrase: ‘Come explore with me’ and have Yumi’s voice be the strongest,” she said. The final exchange between the two characters is meant to encapsulate the story’s message that everything that happens in life contributes to a person’s identity.

“Whether child or adult, we are all at some point faced with a massive challenge we were not expecting,” Redlawsk’s agent Ghahremani said. “Yumi and Monster’s journey meets the reader where they are in life, inviting them into an adventure about confusion and, ultimately, empowerment that can be found within these life challenges.”

Redlawsk echoes this sentiment and hopes her readers will, like Yumi, begin to comprehend that emotions are a universal language. “This story is for anyone who is handling something, whether it’s bullying, anxiety, addiction—you need to have more empathy for yourself,” she said.

Readers will have an opportunity to meet Redlawsk at two upcoming events: a conversation with author Loryn Brantz at Books of Wonder in New York City on September 16, and a Los Angeles book celebration at Annabelle’s Book Club LA on October 4.

Yumi and Monster by Kam Redlawsk. Union Square Kids, $18.99 Sept. ISBN 978-1-4549-6317-2