Sharing our Blessings

The premise is simple – sharing our blessings one book at a time.  We are giving away a free book to any mom who is pregnant and received a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome or has recently given birth to a baby with Down syndrome.

When Charlie was one month old, a family friend gave me the book Gifts, Mothers Reflect on How Children With Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives, edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper. One afternoon when the boys were taking their naps, I curled up on my bed and opened the book. I couldn’t read the stories fast enough. I finished the book and started again. A few months later I ordered my copy of the newly released Road Map To Holland, How I Found My Way Through My Son’s First Two Years With Down Syndrome, by Jennifer Graf Groneberg. The pages flew by. Again, upon reaching the end, I turned back to the beginning. Both books were written by mothers. Mothers who have walked the path before me. Mothers who understood what I was experiencing.

Today I have the gift of perspective.  And I want to share that gift.

These books are meant to be shared.  Given to a mother who receives a prenatal diagnosis and worries about what the future holds for her unborn baby.  Shared with a family that just welcomed their new baby and received an unexpected diagnosis.

A bit of hope in a sea of often outdated, biased and negative information.

This blog is simply the vehicle.  It’s my hope that those who have received a diagnosis and turn to “google” for information may stumble across our blog.  Or perhaps you already read this blog and know of someone who is pregnant with a prenatal diagnosis or just gave birth.  The details of how you get here aren’t important, the end result of sharing a book is.

How does “Sharing Our Blessings” work?

Who can get a free book? Any mom who has either received a prenatal diagnosis confirming that your baby has Down syndrome or you just gave birth to a baby with Down syndrome.  I would consider it an honor to share either Gifts or Road Map with you.  My hope is that we can reach out to individual families that have not received support locally, or don’t have access to an existing parent support group.  If you have the means to purchase a book yourself, it would be much appreciated (just consider this a very biased book review, strongly suggesting that these are the first two books you go out and purchase…) that way we can be sure to reach those that may not have the current resources for a new book.  While I would love to supply all hospitals and doctor’s offices across the country with copies of each book, my checkbook can’t, so again, individual families only – no organizations please.  And I will also have to limit requests to those families that live within the United States.  Unfortunately international shipping costs far exceed the cost of the actual books.

How can you get a book? Shoot me an e-mail at: libby. blessingsandglory @ gmail. com (no spaces.)  It can be a brief or long note.  Let me know if you received a prenatal diagnosis, or diagnosis at birth.  Then all I need is your name and address so I can send you a copy of one of the books.  You don’t need to do anything else – just set aside some time to enjoy the stories.  The book is yours so read and re-read, though you may want to share with family and friends who want to understand a bit of what you are experiencing.  Really though – there are no strings attached.  (Though I would love you to leave a comment on our blog – What did you think of the books?  Share some of the important pregnancy and new mom facts – When is your baby due?  Boy or girl?  What name did you choose?  How much did your baby weigh?  Does he look like mom or dad?  You know, all of the good details.)

How long will we be “Sharing” through the Blessings and Glory blog? Right now I’m not certain about a time line, or how many books we give away.  But for now, my goal is to give away all the books I’ve ordered.  And when they are gone I will order more.  It’s pretty clear to me that this process isn’t about me, but instead it is about me being faithful.  Handing it all over to Him.  Giving thanks and sharing our blessings one book at a time.  And that is enough for today.

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To read more about how “Sharing our Blessings” came to be you may want to check out these links:

Sharing our Blessings
Giving Thanks