Monthly Archives: August 2017
Since the release of my new book He Made Us Better: A Story of Faith, Family, Friends (and Football), the story of our 39-year adventure with our special-needs son Peter, who passed away in 2014, I’ve received a lot of feedback. I’ve been blessed by the very positive and encouraging comments I’ve received from readers, and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to engage with them about the book. Of all the comments I’ve received, by far the most common has…..
In August of 1995, our special-needs son Peter finally took possession of a brand new, full-sized Ford van. It was completely accessible, with an automatic lift, and had hand controls, so that Peter, who was in a wheelchair, could drive it. It also had a removable driver’s seat, so that “regular people” could drive it too. Peter couldn’t have been prouder! One Saturday evening in October, Pete’s van was sitting outside, and I went out to put it away…..
Hey Pete, With your birthday coming up Monday, I just felt like sending you an email. Don’t know what your address is up there, but hope this finds its way to you. To say that Mom and I and everyone else miss you would be a colossal understatement. I’d give anything to hear your van pull into the garage after work, hear your wheelchair come up the ramp and into the door, and ask you what sports news you’d heard…..
I was 27 and my wife 26 when our second son Peter was born with a serious birth defect. Looking back over the decades, we were just kids—kids who had just had a bomb dropped on us. I could write a book about the things I’ve learned in the intervening decades that would have been helpful to know. But here are just a few of the things that I wish the me of today could have told myself in those…..
“A heartening and well-told family story.” —Kirkus Reviews
“This is one book you must read. You’ll never look at people with disabilities or the caregivers who assist them in the same way again. —Tom Bechman, Editor, Indiana Prairie Farmer