The author of TJ and His Wheelable Chair, Amanda Kehoe attended The People’s Book Prize Awards
The book of Amanda Kehoe, TJ and His Wheelable Chair was nominated for The People’s Book Prize 10th Anniversary Awards in the category of Best Children’s Book. The award event was held in Stationers’ Hall, London on 8th May 2019. The event was attended by many well-known celebrities. The author shared her views on being nominated for her book, she said: “Unfortunately, I did not win the award but had the honour to meet Clive Mantle, who happens to be the winner of the award and also an actor by profession who appeared in Game of Thrones. The overall experience of meeting and greeting so many influential people was amazing and memorable. The Sky news has covered all the event and I am looking forward to seeing it. It felt amazing to be among the finalists”.
The story of TJ and His Wheelable Chair is about an inspirational journey of a kid named TJ, who is disabled as he cannot walk or talk. But he did not let his disabilities come in his way. He has a friendly nature and he loves to play with his friends. “The book is not targeted at people with disabilities to show them they can do whatever they put their mind to, it's to show others that TJ is just like them, he loves the same things as his peers do and that even though he cannot talk, he can understand what you say and still likes to be a part of everything that other children enjoy doing.”
Amanda Kehoe is a married woman with three children. She, currently, resides in Newbridge, Co. Kildare with her family. She was born in 1976 in Ballinteer, Dublin. She is a Marketing, Advertising and Public Relation graduate from Dublin Business School. She has worked in Marketing and also served as a P.A to the Chairman at Nissan, Ireland. She has also worked as a Montessori teacher. In March 2009, her 10 months old son was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Global Development Delay. She had to let go of her work to take care of her son.