Changed by a Child

Book Description:

Parenting is always tough, but parenting a child with disabilities, serious injuries, or chronic illness can be a life-changing, profoundly disrupting experience. In Changed by a Child, Barbara Gill provides brief meditations and passages about the challenges, grief, faith, hope, and other feelings and experiences of parents who have a disabled child. Gill’s son has Down syndrome, and she writes with the authority and credibility of a parent who has been through it herself. The brief pieces in this small, handsome book are divided into three sections: "In the Beginning," "Rounding the Curves," and "Transformed." It’s a credit to Gill’s experienced wisdom and her skills as a writer that this material never becomes sentimental or sugary. Temple Grandin, a woman with autism and the author of Thinking in Pictures, writes, "I wish my own mother had had this book when I was a child. If she had read this book she would have realized that she was not alone." For those parents who do feel alone, this book may serve as a kind and compassionate companion. --Ericka Lutz

Raising a child with a disability can often be more isolating and frustrating than any parent ever imagines. Finally, here is a book that honestly describes the inner needs and range of issues parents with disabled children face. Changed by a Child invites parents to take a moment for themselves. Each of the brief readings offers comfort and hope as they capture the unique challenges and joys of raising a disabled child.