Cover Image: How to Build a Thriving Marriage as You Care for Children with Disabilities

How to Build a Thriving Marriage as You Care for Children with Disabilities

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Member Reviews

The heartfelt sharing of Kristin’s emotional devastation with the news of her daughter’s chromosomal deletion while still pregnant, to the whirlwind adjustments and difficulties of parenting, partnership/marriage and belonging sucked me in. Reading/Hearing the heartache of a mom and having known similar desperation had me grappling for the methods she had found to make all these areas of life sustainable and brighter. From conversation starters of “is this for solutions or just listening”, to brainstorming sessions on how we can accomplish what seems unattainable in time, space, money, or emotional wellness, to how do I become intimate with my partner in the middle of all this? From simple Ideas to real-life how-to with steps to put it into practice and closing out with tons of resources available to help families in many walks of life. Just as Kristin shares, you don’t have to do it alone. Finding the people/places (many resources in this book) where there are families like yours, churches that have ministries for the situation you have, and groups where you can feel like you fit and belong. Where your family fits.

Having been in marriage therapy for years and read/heard many books on marriage, I still learned new ideas and gained great insight from this book. I highly recommend it for anyone. There is so much knowledge to be gained/shared from real-life experiences of Todd and Kristin’s heart and story.

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My husband and I have a son who had infantile cancer, and a few years later was diagnosed with autism. Our son is now 9 years old, so my husband and I have been navigating marriage with a disabled child for almost a decade. I found this book to be a helpful, down to earth (that is, fully relatable and authentic) guide to approaching the difficulties that caregiving parents encounter.

Being true to it's title, this book focuses on the marriage aspects of life raising a disabled child. It's not a parenting-focused book, it's a marriage-building book. However, you will likely find that improving your marriage also improves your parenting skills as well.

There are many "quiz" or checklist type assessments in each chapter of this book, so I recommend buying the physical book in lieu of an e-book copy. You will maximize the effectiveness this book if you go through it with your spouse and take the time to do the assessments. It would be a great gift to give a couple raising a disabled child. I wish I would have had this book 5-10 years ago, as I have learned many of these same principles the hard way.

This book was a quick read, and you can choose to read it all or just focus on the chapters where you need the most help. The resources listed at the end are a great addition to the book. I'm thankful Kristin and Todd wrote this much-needed book.

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I just finished reading this book. I highly recommend it for parents of children with disabilities. It is almost like a handbook on keeping a healthy relationship with your spouse while caring for your fragile child and all the struggles that go along with that. At the same time the authors share their very personal story of walking this difficult path with not only one but two special needs children.
This book is brutally honest but very uplifting as well. A much needed resource!

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