When I wrote my new book He Made Us Better: A Story of Faith, Family, Friends (and Football) about the 39-year journey with our special-needs son Peter, my primary purpose was to inspire and encourage people. And I really wanted it to get to those who especially needed some encouragement. Recently I’ve encountered some pretty convincing evidence that that’s already happening. My day job is being a freelance agribusiness writer. About three weeks ago, I was scheduled to attend…..
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…..
In my new book, He Made Us Better, A Story of Faith, Family, Friends (and Football) there’s a subchapter that quotes Mary Poppins, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” For our son Peter and our family, as we went through serial medical crises over a span of decades, we learned that Mary was a pretty smart gal. When we’d make doctor trips to Indianapolis, to make the day more tolerable, we’d usually try to have a “fun…..
In the prologue of my new book He Made Us Better: A Story of Faith, Family, Friends (and Football), I tell how our son Peter had incorporated legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne’s famous words, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” into the core of his being. Peter was born with a serious birth defect, which led to a lifetime of physical challenges and medical complications. Scores of surgeries and lengthy hospitalizations were a way of…..
If so, maybe I can help. I’ve written a new book about my son, Peter Boone, entitled He Made Us Better: A Story of Faith, Family, Friends (and Football). Because that’s what Pete did for people, was to help them adjust their attitudes and their outlook on life. You see, Peter was born with a severe case of a birth defect, spina bifida, or “open spine.” As a result, he was paralyzed from the chest down, and was never able…..
Welcome. My name is Darrell Boone, author of He Made Us Better. I’m so happy to have you as a visitor to my blog about my new book. This project is very special to me, and I hope to share some of that excitement with you here. I’ll be using this blog to interact with you about He Made Us Better, expanding on some of the topics in it and posting on some of the ideas related to my book……