Trace Wilson laughs when friends joke about his lack of a right hand. In fact, he said, his closest friends joke the most.
“My friends, in the course of an hour, will make four one-hand jokes,” Wilson said. “People who just met me say, ‘Oh, that’s so rude.’ I’m, like, ‘I’m fine with it. You should be, too.’ ”
Not all individuals without a limb feel that same sense of inclusion and understanding. Wilson, a George Mason University senior, said he grappled with it himself growing up. It is why he wrote a children’s book called “Uniquely Me.”
As the marketing major explained, the book, available online and at the George Mason bookstore, is about a one-handed boy trying to understand why he is different.
“He talks to several animal characters and gets their point of view,” Wilson said. “In the end, he realizes it doesn’t matter if he has one hand or two or three. He’s unique in his own way.”
Wilson said the book is for children ages 3-8. His mom, Nancy, said she keeps a copy on her dresser.
“Every time I see it, it still brings tears to my eyes,” she said. “He has made me so proud.”
Wilson said he wrote the book on his phone’s notes app two years ago during a family vacation. A Kickstarter campaign that began in July 2015 raised almost $6,000, which allowed him to hire an illustrator.
Josh Patrick, director of sales and marketing at Mascot Books in Herndon, Va., noticed the campaign and that Wilson’s book targets a niche market. A partnership was formed.
Patrick said Wilson’s book, a breezy 300 words over 24 pages that has sold about 750 copies and is headed for a second printing, was “probably more complete and polished than 90 percent of work we see here.”
Wilson’s hand did not develop because of amniotic band syndrome. That occurs when a limb is entangled with the fibrous amniotic bands in the womb and blood flow is cut off.
Wilson plays guitar, uses a strap-on hook to lift weights, is a whiz at video games and wants to try archery. He also is considering a prosthetic. Quite a change from when, as a youngster, he shoved his arm in a pocket to hide his lack of a hand.
“I hope the book helps kids understand that even though they are different they can accomplish the same things as other kids,” Wilson said.
“It’s something they get used to and something everyone else gets used to,” Wilson said of the lack of a limb. “If they don’t, it doesn’t matter. What matters is your opinion of yourself.”