Wink

Wink is a personal novel for Rob Harrell because he had the same rare cancer (a lacrimal gland tumor) as the protagonist. Ross’s experiences are the same as what Harrell endured, only as an adult rather than a preteen boy. In an interview with Children’s Plus Inc., Harrell relates that he wrote Wink to create representation of a preteen cancer patient that is both honest and funny. He came up with the idea when a friend’s daughter got cancer. Harrell draws on his own experiences with cancer to give Ross’s story authenticity but sets the story in an environment inspired by this girl’s experiences—an American middle school, where Ross has to suffer his treatments’ side effects in conjunction with unusual social challenges. In doing so, Harrell hoped to help not only young readers with cancer but also those who feel weird and isolated for any reason:

Hopefully Ross’s story will make them feel less alone. What happens in the book isn’t Ross’s fault, and he’s done nothing to deserve the situation he finds himself in. So we see a kid, thrown into the deep end—into the ‘weird end’—and he has to learn to lean on his strengths. Hopefully kids can find their own Batpig, or guitar lessons. Something to pour themselves into (“Author Spotlight: Rob Harrell.” Children’s Plus, Inc.).

The book’s core themes—e.g., that Authentic Self-Expression Is Liberating—also resonate with Harrell’s personal experiences. Harrell knows the importance of self-expression to people’s mental health because he found solace in his art when he was a cancer patient. He therefore shows how drawing and music help Ross process his emotions while radiation side effects alter his appearance. Ross’s visual art and performance art are his passions and are integral to his identity; they are examples of what Harrell’s readers can pursue when they need comfort, inspiration, and self-confidence.

Another lesson Harrell learned as a cancer patient was that Connection and Communication Are Essential to Survival. In Harrell’s acknowledgments page, he thanks the people who helped him survive cancer or supported him in the writing and publication of Wink. This focus carries over into the narrative proper, where Harrell shows Ross discovering different kinds of connections with people and depicts how those connections keep him going.