Review
""The Year My Son And I Were Born "is a deeply honest, extremely moving, and lovingly-written memoir that tells a story few books are willing to tell. Taking us through her first year as the mother of a child with Down Syndrome, Kathryn Soper shares the contradictory emotions, self-doubts, and even spiritual questions that many young parents experience during that time but rarely admit even to friends. Along the way, her graceful, unsentimental, and gently humorous writing takes us through many struggles: navigating unfamiliar medical terrain, nurturing her six older children, keeping her marriage intact, and, above all else, accepting her son for who he is. In the end, she comes to see how to live life in a new way -- and so did I. I'm so glad Kathryn Soper had the courage to open her heart, mind, and spirit to readers. She has written a book that really matters." --Rachel Simon, Author of "Riding the Bus with My Sister"""
"Kathryn Soper's "The Year My Son and I Were Born" is a story of how sometimes life's lessons come at great personal cost--but that if we allow our hearts to open, even a mother's deepest despair can be transformed." --Jennifer Graf Groneberg, author of "Road Map to Holland: How I Found My Way Through My Son's First Two Years with Down Syndrome""" "Kathryn Lynard Soper's "The Year My Son and I Were Born" takes on, with grace, honesty and candor, a difficult subject: what it means, in our culture of perfection, to become the mother of a disabled child. From her son's early, traumatic birth, to learning what it means to be the mother of a child with special needs, Soper's journey with Thomas will appeal to not only readers who share similar experiences, but also toany reader who has found life can often turn out not to be as expected, or predicted--in other words, all readers."
--Vicki Forman, author of ""This Lovely Life: A Memoir of Premature Motherhood"" "Kathryn Lynard Soper is a wonderful writer. Her prose is spare and achingly honest. With her talent for to-the-bone expression, she has produced this remarkable memoir about the birth of her Down Syndrome son and the inevitable life changes he brought to her family--and to her own life. It is at once heart-wrenching and redemptive, a memoir not just for someone dealing with a child's disabilities (whatever they might be), but for anyone coping with a hard surprise. Soper is candid about the difficulty of embracing the unexpected, and leads her readers through the transcendent process of recognizing and loving the gift at the core of the challenge.In one chapter, another of her children looks at his toy and asks, "When can I exchange my Transformer?" The baby of the Soper family, with his unique needs and difficulties, is their "transformer"--and not to be exchanged. This book is itself a sign of its author's transformation, and will be a guide and a comfort for any reader."--Margaret Young, Creative Writing Instructor, Brigham Young University In Praise of "Gifts: """ "This fine book helps dispel the fear and misinformation about Down syndrome that many parents and prospective parents face. As these deft essays convey, the world would be a sweeter place with more Down syndrome citizens, not fewer."--George F. Will, "Newsweek"
""Gifts" is honest and life affirming, a chorus of mothers proclaiming what every obstetrician and gynecologist should know--that life is a gift and an extrachromosome is not the end of the world."--Beverly Beckham, "Boston Globe"
"Through "Gifts" we hear the powerful voices of mothers who said 'yes' when others might have been saying 'no.' These mothers take us on their journey filled with wonder, courage, and the belief that children wit --"Library Journal Xpress Reviews"
Product Description
Her struggle, coupled with the demands of caring for a fragile baby and juggling her family's needs, pulled her into a downward spiral of depression. "The Year My Son and I Were Born" is Soper's brutally honest yet beautiful journey of how, through the help of antidepressants and interactions with family, friends, and other individuals, she gained a new perspective on life. Above all, her relationship with her son began to strengthen. His radiant presence pushed through the outer layers of herself, where fear and guilt festered, and reached the center of her very being - where love, acceptance, and gratitude were waiting in abundance.
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