I'm very glad I read this book. However, it is not for everyone. It is extremely heartbreaking with a lot of medical details. It is the memoir of a woman, primarily focused on the months following the birth of a medically fragile child. On top of it, she had a three year old with special needs and a terrible marriage.

But the book hooked me from the start and I couldn't put it down. I knew the author had somehow survived this ordeal and was able to write about it 20 years later, and I had to know how she got through it. It is also a love story as the strength she found both in herself and with a new man helped her get through it. (FYI, the text itself ends rather abruptly but it sends you to her website where there is an epilogue complete with photos. If I didn't read the online epilogue, I would have been very disappointed as I needed to know what happened with all the characters.) This might be a good book to read if you are going through a challenging time, or if you have a friend dealing with a child with severe medical issues. It definitely gave me better insight to how challenging that type of life can be both physically and emotionally for the family members. ( )

I hate to say this, because I know that the main character was in a bad marriage, but I didn't like her at all. I didn't like who she was, and I was uncomfortable with her connection with her stepbrother. I can probably do an actual review of the book when I forget just how much I disliked her.

This book is a true-life story of a mother attempting to raise two daughters with special needs.
It is very intense, emotional and devastating.
But in the middle of a nightmare, Laura found a partner, lover, and friend who supported her efforts to protect and raise both children with love and compassion. ( )

Note : This review is up in my blog - Book And Ink

Laura, our protagonist is a 25 year old new mum whose life turns upside down when her 13 day old second daughter is diagnosed with heart murmurs. Subsequently she is diagnosed with severe disability. Adding to her misery, her first daughter is also diagnosed with learning disabilities. The lack of a proper emotional and financial support system for her Marine husband, Kevin makes life all the more difficult for her until Daniel comes along. The story is an account of how Laura and her kids beat all the odds of survival and finally find peace.

I truly wonder if I could handle even half of what Laura went through. Taking care of one special needs child is mammoth task. Taking care of 2 such kids without a proper support system sounds just impossible. The writer, Stephanie has delivered a tear jerker effortlessly. It might be her real live story but penning it down and reliving all of it in the process is simply painful. There were parts in the book that just left me thinking, why she really chose to struggle. She had the option of euthanasia, but she never really considered that to be an option at all. That is simply inspiring, the choice to give her little girl a chance at life though it would make her own life a struggle No matter how much trouble she faced, she simply kept slogging without deterring.

Needless to say, the writing was powerful, effective and packed quite a punch. Characterization on the other hand, had a lot of room for improvement. Stephanie focused more on the primary characters, as in Emily, Kevin, Daniel, Hannah and her doctor. The high point of characterization would be the differences the writer showed between Kevin and Daniel. I felt she could have given a wee bit more importance to other characters. But then, the book being a memoir, it would be unwise of me judge characterization.

MY SAY: A must read for anyone who thinks their life is miserable. The book taught me to be thankful for life that I live today.

RATING: 10/10

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The beauty of memoir is, when written effectively, we can step into someone else’s story and feel as if we are living the experience with the author. In Stephanie Collins’ case, she leads us straight into the heart of her story about what it feels like to be the mother of two special needs children. With raw honesty and gripping prose, she leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind of the devastating and daunting circumstances she has to face. She also leaves no doubt about her fierce mother love and incredible resilience as she negotiates her way, often times single-handedly, through a complex and insensitive medical system.

I’ll admit that there were times that were so intense, I needed to take a break from reading while also wanting to keep turning the pages. There was no sugar-coating of the details of daily life which were haunting and overwhelming. This gave me a clear understanding of what it meant to be a mother of two special needs children. Add to that an irresponsible and restless husband who did not want to participate in the care of the second child and you have enough tension and conflict to keep the drama going.

In my opinion, memoirs that combine light moments with the darkness provide relief for the reader. Stephanie does this very well by weaving in the love story between her and Daniel. In the end, it’s the love of a supportive partner and the love of a mother toward her children that guide her out of the darkness into the light.

This is a beautifully-written memoir of love, hope and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. I highly recommend this memoir for anyone who has a special needs child or for health care workers who serve the special-needs population. Beyond that, it is a poignant love story, a labor of love. ( )