No Matter the Distance

An unexpected animal companion helps a girl with cystic fibrosis learn to write her own story in this captivating novel in verse by award-winning author and disabled activist Cindy Baldwin.

Penny Rooney has cystic fibrosis, which means she has to do breathing treatments to help her lungs work. Some days, it seems like her CF is the only thing Penny knows about herself for sure.

From her point of view, everyone around her can make sense of their place in the world. So why can’t Penny even begin to write a poem about herself for school?

Then during spring break Penny spots something impossible in the creek behind her house: a dolphin, far from its home. Penny names the dolphin Rose and feels an immediate bond, since the dolphin is also sick.

But as Penny’s CF worsens, she realizes that Rose needs to return to her pod to get better. Will Penny be able to help guide Rose back to the ocean, even if it means losing her friend?

This heartwarming story, which marks the first time an author with cystic fibrosis is writing a protagonist with CF, will transport readers into a world full of friendship, family, and powerful self-discovery.

• An Unlikely Friendship: Penny feels an instant connection to Rose, the dolphin stranded in her backyard creek, because she knows what it’s like to feel sick and alone.
• A Story in Verse: Discover a lyrical and accessible novel that captures Penny’s journey with heartfelt honesty and beautiful, free-flowing verse.
• Finding Your Voice: Tasked with writing a poem about herself, Penny finds the courage to define her own story through the brave mission to save her new friend.
• Courage and Chronic Illness: A powerful and authentic look at the daily realities of living with cystic fibrosis, showing the courage it takes to face treatments, uncertainty, and the search for identity beyond a diagnosis.

Cindy Baldwin is the award-winning author of Where the Watermelons Grow, Beginners Welcome, and The Stars of Whistling Ridge. She is a disabled activist, cofounder of Middle Grade at Heart, and We Need Diverse Books mentor. She lives just outside Portland, Oregon, with her husband and daughter. To learn more about Cindy, visit cindybaldwinbooks.com.