Things don't always go as planned--especially when it comes to our children. When her first baby, Penny, is given a frightening diagnosis, Amy Julia's world comes crashing down. Could she continue to trust God's goodness through what felt like personal tragedy? But challenging surprises often lead to unforeseen joy, and disappointments can turn into blessings. This wise and beautiful book is more than a courageous story of raising a child against the odds--it is a journey through the unexpected ups and downs of life and the discoveries that come along the way.

Selected as one of the top 10 best religion books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly.

An Honest, Hopeful Look at Unexpected Challenges

Challenging surprises often lead to unexpected joy. Amy Julia opens eyes and softens hearts as she brings readers into her own story of disappointment turned to blessing. This is a journey of discovering strength through weakness, and the author learns to embrace the face that we are all dependent on God and one another. This books will inspire readers who appreciate beautiful writing coupled with deep insights about life and faith.

"Amy Julia Becker has the courage and grace to tell the truth. Whether you are a parent or not, whether the children in your life are 'typical' or not, this story will shake you, change you, and encourage you."--Andy Crouch, author, Culture Making

Amy Julia Becker is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, which critic Andy Crouch included in his list of the best books of 2009. She graduated from Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, and writes regularly for Motherlode, the parenting blog of The New York Times. Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, Bloom, and other venues. Amy Julia lives in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, with her husband and three children.

Becker (Penelope Ayers: A Memoir), a Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary graduate, knows how to grab a reader's heartstrings as she writes about her journey as a new mom to Penny, her first child, who has Down syndrome. The author keeps a journal in her early days as a mother, a time when her faith, her expectations, and her fears ran a gamut. Becker tells how impressed she has always been with intelligence, and now her little girl will lack this gift so important to Becker. Or would she? This beautifully written text explores how Becker and her husband deal with the news of having a child with a disability and the transformation they undergo as time passes. Each journal entry opens a new chapter of Penny's growth, and with every change in Penny comes a corresponding response of grateful joy in everyone else. Becker's work is introspective and theologically inquisitive, leading readers to ask the same questions this mother asks herself as her world tilted off its axis. (Sept.) Copyright 2011 Reed Business Information.

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