RECENT POSTS
Festival of Faith and Writing April 2024
I can more or less measure the timeline of my writing career through the Festival of Faith and Writing. In 2008 I saw an ad
Watching Down for Love
We took advantage of an unexpected early dismissal from school to watch the final episode of Down for Love. I’ll write more (and hopefully Penny
TIME: Doctors Don’t Know How to Talk About Down Syndrome
Read the Essay: Doctors Don’t Know How to Talk About Down Syndrome Any parent who has received a prenatal or postnatal diagnosis of Down syndrome
“They aren’t special needs. They are human needs.”
“They aren’t special needs. They are human needs.” My friend Jay Wolf gave this beautifully concise explanation of why the term “special needs” is problematic.
The Particular Faces of People With Down Syndrome
Penny and her friend Rachel call each other twins sometimes. It came about because they realized that they could open each other’s phones without a
Disability Is Central to James McBride’s Latest Novel. Critics Are Missing That Point.
Has anyone else read James McBride’s latest novel, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store? I really liked it. I’ve read reviews, but I think the
Healing Gets in the Way. And That’s Okay.
I could hardly stand up from my chair. The pain came out of nowhere, it seemed. No injury. No tweaking. No unusual activity. Just shooting
S7 E1 | The Hope and Hurt of Being Black in America with Esau McCaulley
Apple Google Spotify More! “Whose stories matter?” Esau McCaulley, author of How Far to the Promised Land, joins Amy Julia Becker for an honest, hopeful
What Penny and I Thought About the Champions Movie
I’m a little late to this game (no pun intended), but we watched Champions as a family recently, and we all want to recommend it.
12 Year Anniversary of A Good and Perfect Gift
Twelve years ago today, A Good and Perfect Gift came out into the world. I still hear from readers regularly, and I am so so
There Are Good Reasons for Leaving Church. Why Do I Stay?
There are good reasons for leaving church: scandals, abuse, hypocrisy, patriarchal structures, intolerance. Nearly 40 million American adults were once churchgoers but aren’t any longer,
Finding Other Ways to Communicate…
“I call shotgun.” I remember these days, back when I squabbled with my sisters over who got to sit up front. Now we are reenacting
Introducing Season 7 of Love Is Stronger Than Fear Podcast
Apple Google Spotify More! Love is stronger than fear. What if we really believed it? What if we lived into love and weren’t overcome by
The Deeper Truth
There are two true stories that run through my life. The first one, the one I’ve paid attention to a lot over the years, is
August Introductions
Welcome to everyone who is new around here! I’m Amy Julia, and I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself this August: 1. I
When You Post About Barbie on Social Media
A few weeks ago, I wrote about “Barbie” (the movie) and disability. As Amber, my social media coordinator says, “the algorithm decided to show your
Tell Your Story
On the first morning of Hope Heals camp, the woman beside me said, “I can’t really believe I’m walking next to you right now. I
How “The Ones We Sent Away” Connects to Our Present Moment
Because we have a daughter with Down syndrome, I hear lots of stories about family members with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities. Sometimes I
Summer Loving
Peter and I had just under 48 hours away and alone together to ride bikes and sit on the beach and eat halibut and read
Forgetting our Humanity
“‘The propagandist’s purpose,’ Aldous Huxley observed, ‘is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.’” This quotation came
Ableism at the County Fair
Last week, I received an email from Amber, who has three kids, including Cal*, her son with a rare genetic difference. Amber is also my
