Chapter 4: Prayer
When I was deciding what chapters to record for this Reading Small Talk podcast, I skimmed through the whole book. But when I got to the chapter on Prayer, I…
The Ordinary Goodness of a Life with Down Syndrome, Even Now
Our daughter Penny is 14. She loves Taylor Swift and Fuller House and the Yankees. She betrays many signs of becoming a typical teenager: she groans when I wake her…
Hope and the Spiritual Imagination
“I suspect every pregnant woman imagines a hypothetical life for her child. And every pregnant woman knows that child’s life won’t work out exactly as she imagined it. Life will…
Chapter 3: Beauty
It was over a decade ago—a few months after William was born—that I caught a glimpse of my body in a full-length mirror and worried about what I saw. …
Happy Mother’s Day!
So today, on Mother's Day, can you imagine getting really mad, maybe not for a terrific reason, and yelling at your kids and slamming a door and stomping around the…
Reading Small Talk: Behind-the-Scenes
Want a glimpse of Small Talk behind-the-scenes? How do my kids REALLY feel about being stuck at home with our family?! What do they think I am having a hard…
A Mother’s Day Gift: Reading Small Talk Podcast
Download Audiobook To all the mothers and fathers of young children who are struggling right now, I have a small gift for you—the Reading Small Talk podcast—that I hope might…
Penny’s Prayer for Church During COVID-19 Crisis
Penny was asked to write a prayer for our church. Our pastor sends out a prayer written by a member of our congregation every morning. Here’s Penny's prayer: Dear…
How Can We Love Our Neighbors in a Time of Coronavirus?
What does it mean to love our neighbors in a time of coronavirus? Like many Americans, I’ve paid increasing attention these past few days to reports about the spread of…
The Truth About Disability and Siblings
"How do your other children react to having a sister with Down syndrome?" People ask this question frequently, both out of curiosity and also from concern about the long-term impact…
