A Different Kind of Perfect: Writings by Parents on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Paperback)

by Cindy Dowling (Author)

From Publishers Weekly

While all parents worry about their offspring, parents of children with special needs face a unique set of challenges that is served well by this touching collection. The conflicting emotions and frustrating dilemmas of raising special needs kids are well represented by more than 50 short essays; parents will find honest confessions that are wrenching, warming and probably familiar. “Why make a birthday cake when she can’t blow out the candles, make a wish or eat a piece of cake?” laments one mom in the section on “Depression”; another, in the “Love and Joy” section, is taken by surprise by her own happiness: “The sun is shining, the day is brand-new, my child is humming, and God is so good!” Divided at first into sections based on the emotional journey of parents of special needs children, essays on such topics as “Denial,” “Anger,” “Acceptance” and “Empowerment” give way to takes on “Marriage, family and friends,” “Spirituality” and “Laughter,” and include practical advice (“Don’t Always Trust the ‘Experts'”), philosophical musing (“The Kaledoscope of Our Life”), straight encouragement (“Dance Recitals Are Still Possible”) and life lessons (“We Take Nothing for Granted”). Though this text is not for parents who are expecting, it makes a valuable, readable, tear-jerking resource for parents raising a special needs child. ~
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Reviews

Compiled by a psychologist and two parents of special-needs children, the essays in this book reveal deeply personal issues.  Through these sincere accounts we see both the strain on the parents and the potential of the children. Library Journal (starred review)

The honesty in this book took my breath away. There are so many different, compelling voices to listen to. The book embraces the entire family experience, as well as the whole grieving cycle.Susan Senator, author of Making Peace with Autism

This riveting book brings us the much needed voices of parents of children with disabilities, who speak with breathtaking honesty about their grief and gratitude, anger and exaltation, despair and laughter. It offers a wisdom that speaks not only to parents and families of children with special needs but to anyone who wants to learn how to live gracefully with disappointment and to transform lifes challenges into blessings.Miriam Greenspan, psychotherapist and author of Healing through the Dark Emotions his work.