February 17, 2025
Local News

La Grange author's family life inspires new novel

'It’s. Nice. Outside.' focuses on 19-year-old with autism

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LA GRANGE – It's a story parents of children with special needs know all too well: the daily challenges and the prospect of finding long-term care once they are no longer able to care for them. La Grange resident Jim Kokoris recently published his novel "It's. Nice. Outside.", a fictional memoir about his experiences with his 19-year-old son with autism, Andrew.

“It’s been very gratifying for me to read the online reviews of the book,” said Kokoris, 57. “Every day I see more and more, and they’ve been great. A lot of special needs parents have read the book and said the emotions are very real and honest. They understand the anger, frustration and love.”

The novel is set in Chicago, and it is about a man who is driving to Maine with his 19-year-old son with autism in hopes of finding a permanent residence for him. Along the way, the duo picks up the protagonist’s two daughters and ex-wife. Kokoris said the dysfunctional nature of the family provides lots of laughs throughout the book.

“I’m a humorist, so it’s funny but also sad,” he said. “It’s a story about family. It’s up and down. One minute you’re laughing and the next you’re crying. I’m very proud of it. It’s been several years of hard work.”

Kokoris graduated from Marist High School in Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from the University of Illinois. By day, he’s a partner in a public relations firm, but writing has always been his hobby.

Kokoris, who has two other adult sons, said Andrew behaves like a 3-year-old child and will never be able to hold a job or live on his own.

“He has some behavioral issues and doesn’t communicate well, and I have to help bathe and dress him,” he said. “But he’s very good in public and loves to go outside and ride bikes. I wish Andrew would have a normal life, for his sake, but I’ve been so fortunate in so many ways. A lot of great things have happened, and we try to focus on the positives.”

Kokoris’s oldest son, John, 26, said while the book isn’t exactly his family’s story, it highlights a lot of what his parents go through while raising a child with special needs.

“Unless you have a special needs family member, it’s hard to know how it affects families in many different ways,” he said. “This isn’t every family’s story, but it’s a valuable look at what goes into living with someone with special needs. I can’t believe how good of a job my parents did with us.”

The novel, which is published by St. Martin’s Press, is Kokoris’s fourth, but it’s the first time he’s written about such a personal subject. While the book is fiction, he said he and his family go through many of the same struggles as the characters in the book.

“The main character is based on my son,” he explained. “Having a special needs son is a challenge, and we face it every day. We’re embarking on a similar journey in real life – just starting to look at homes – and I wanted to write about it.”

Kokoris hopes his book raises awareness of the challenges of raising a child with special needs, as well as the shortage of residential options for people with disabilities, especially in Illinois. He said he’s just beginning to research and educate himself about the process, but he said the waiting lists for homes in Illinois are about 10 years.

“The autistic population keeps growing, and there are no places for them to live when they become adults,” he said. “It’s a growing crisis, and it’s just going to get worse. People have to move out of state to find homes, and if that’s what it takes, we’ll do it.”

John Kokoris agrees and said it is “shameful” how few resources there are in Illinois, and the country in general, for people with disabilities.

“They’re members of the community and they can’t take care of themselves, and we need to make sure they can live with dignity,” he said. “I worry about what will happen to Andrew when my parents die. It’s bad that as a society, we don’t prioritize taking care of people like my brother.”

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Buy the book

"It's. Nice. Outside." is available at bookstores nationwide and on amazon.com.