Alum's Childhood Passion Becomes the Book She Always Imagined

For Kim LaPoint '97, becoming an author wasn't a sudden retirement hobby. Instead, it was a dream that started when she was 10 years old. "I wanted to be a writer when I was a kid. I had little spiral journals I would fill with stories. I would bring the notebooks everywhere with me. If we went to visit relatives, the notebooks were with me. If my cousins weren't there, I'd sit at the table with the adults and write."

Decades later, her childhood passion has come full circle with the publication of her first children's book, Bella and Nash: Our First Camping Trip Day 1, written under the pen name Kim Adams. The book is currently available on Amazon.

LaPoint was a Humanities & Social Sciences major at Onondaga Community College whose journey to becoming an author was shaped by a deep love of learning and a career in education. She spent 23 years teaching in the East Syracuse Minoa School District, working as an elementary school teacher and special needs teaching assistant. She finished teaching two years ago, and knew the time was right to do what she had always dreamed of. "When I decided to retire, this was going to be the first thing on my agenda. I'd start working on it, then I would put it down, then I would pick it up again."

The book tells a fictional story centered on two cousins: Bella, a child who begins the story impatient and self-centered, and Nash, a nonverbal autistic child who ultimately becomes the hero. While the story itself is fictional, its emotional roots are deeply personal. LaPoint recalls a distant cousin with Down syndrome whom she visited as a child. "He was inspirational, along with my cousins. I kind of wove everyone into two characters in the book." 

That personal connection drives one of the book's central goals of representation. "There aren't a lot of kids who can see themselves in books and have a character like Nash. It's also a story that is great for a typical kid like Bella who knows nothing about kids like Nash. She's really bratty in the beginning of the story, then she learns about tolerance and acceptance. She has this cousin who becomes the hero at the end."

The story also reflects LaPoint's love of the outdoors and her desire to create something both entertaining and educational. It's set against the backdrop of the Adirondacks, and introduces young readers to camping and nature. "I wanted to write something fun and educational, and hope to reach as many readers as possible."

The story also includes a grandfather figure whom everyone calls "Pop." Her inspiration for the character is a lifelong camper who is also her husband, Glenn "Gomez Adams" LaPoint '16. He hosts the "Gomez and Company" morning show on radio station TK-99, and is also a new author, having recently published You're Caller Number 7, Please Try Again. “We had been talking about writing books for years,” she said. "Our mutual encouragement motivated us. We were very supportive of each other.”

The illustrations in Bella and Nash: Our First Camping Trip Day 1 were created by one of her close friends, Gina Noel. Although she is not a professional illustrator, her artwork adds warmth and personality to the story, making the project a true collaboration among friends and family.

LaPoint’s journey as a writer is closely tied to her experience at Onondaga Community College. After enrolling right out of high school, a winter-time car accident interrupted her studies. She returned years later and found her stride. “I loved OCC. As a non-traditional student, I took my classes and courses very seriously. I worked hard. I loved all of it. I could have been a permanent student. I’m one of those people who loves learning.”

Now, with her first book published, LaPoint has added “author” to a life defined by curiosity, creativity, and care for children. It’s a title she’s been earning one spiral notebook at a time since she was 10 years old. She says if the chapter book finds an audience with children between the ages of 8 and 12, she hopes it's only the beginning. "I'd like this to become a series where Nash speaks more, and becomes more of the center or the main character than Bella."