Blessings means "benedictions." This book tells the story of an English family that had everything—stable jobs, good health, comfort, education—until the birth of two children with disabilities seemed to overturn their world. What followed—the events, friendships, and personal growth—must be read to be believed. The author's experience shows that hope and peace can be found even in suffering, and that suffering itself can be eased, overcome, and transformed into blessing. Everything becomes blessing, as the book's subtitle promises. No doubt this is a difficult path, full of hardship, and for some of us impossible to imagine. Yet countless others have walked it, and their witness should encourage us. And on this journey, we are not alone. Here is how this mother describes a moment of grace: "It suddenly seemed as if someone held me fast, keeping me from falling further, while a voice within me said: there is a way out, but you must find it beyond yourself. Remember that I am here, in the darkness. You are never alone."
Read an excerpt from the book: "Blessings" by Mary Craig
There is nothing sentimental in these pages. This is well-written prose—clear, gripping, impossible to set down. Many parents of disabled children will see their own lives reflected here, and the book will become a source of hope and patience not only for educators and professionals, but for everyone. Craig writes: "It was only when I had abandoned all hope of reaching the end that certain words I had read long before came to me with crystal clarity: our tragedy is not that we suffer, but that we waste our suffering. We squander the opportunity to deepen our compassion." And later, recalling the birth of her second disabled child: "Now I had to learn to welcome this new pain into myself so that it could become creative. To do this, I would have to face reality with my head held high, hiding nothing, neither exaggerating nor minimizing. To see my situation exactly as it was, and to move forward from there: that was the secret."
- Natalia Livi, 2000