Bay Area Author Keston Ott-Dahl Signs with The Rudy Literary Agency

San Francisco, CA

Author Keston Ott-Dahl and her partner Andrea speak openly about their daughter Delaney amidst the Thai Surrogacy Scandal reported by CNN on August 7th, 2014(http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/world/asia/thailand-australia-surrogacy/index.html?iref=allsearch) prior to the release of Ott-Dahl's upcoming memoir.

"You can't help but be sad about what happened to baby Gammy in Thailand, but given that this happened to us right here in the States, Andrea and I were not surprised," explained Ott-Dahl.

In April 2012 after a night listening to their friends (also lesbians) heartbreaking stories of unsuccessfully trying to have a baby - the couple had spent a quarter of a million dollars, their eggs were bad, they had participated in studies at Stanford and now they were on waiting lists for adoption but were repeatedly rejected because they were gay - the Ott-Dahl's agreed to surrogate. They never dreamed something would be wrong with the baby, but a routine fetal exam determined the baby was a girl and that she had Down syndrome. "The highs and lows of what happened and the characters who emerged couldn't have been dreamed up by the most imaginative soap opera writers in Hollywood," says Ott-Dahl who expressed shocked at the outcome. "The result was tragic and amazing all at the same time" in an even longer story best saved for Ott-Dahl's memoirs.

The intended parents, the perinatal physician and their families pushed for termination. The baby was fighting for her life, not only from her condition but something even more threatening-discrimination. "I had a new clarity about the world around me and saw a new side to discrimination-especially my own," says Ott-Dahl, "After learning everything we could about Down syndrome, we decided to save this little fighter."

Like the Thai surrogate the Ott-Dahls have no ill will towards the intended parents. "They chose what 70-90% of parents choose when given the diagnosis prenatally," Ott-Dahl explains.

Ott-Dahl recently completed the memoir which chronicles her transformation from ableist to activist in her upcoming memoir Delaney Skye. Karinch is quoted; "Delaney Skye is a huggable, inspiring baby whose life nearly ended before she was born, just because she has Down syndrome. She was not only saved, but also joyfully welcomed by the author and her partner. This is a gripping and beautiful story of surrogacy gone awry, intended parents abandoning a child because she was "defective," and the transformation of lives through the love of that child. The Rudy Agency could not be more proud to represent Keston Ott-Dahl and the book that introduces the world to Delaney Skye."

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