The Life We Never Expected: Hopeful Reflections on the Challenges of Parenting Children with Special Needs
Honest and poignant reflections on raising children with special needs and how to trust God in the process.
When Andrew and Rachel found out that one, and then both, of their children had severe autism, their world was turned on its head.
This is a book about surviving, and thriving, when something goes horribly wrong. It is a mixture of their story and God's story, and the way in which His has shaped theirs.
With raw honesty, clarity and biblical insight, they share their experience of grief and worship, struggle and hope. As well as reflecting on the specific challenges of raising children with special needs, they speak to broader questions as well: the problem of suffering, building a marriage under pressure, fighting for joy and trusting in the goodness of God.
This is not just a book for families and friends of special needs children, but for all who have been thrown a curve ball in life, and need to know how to lament, worship, pray and hope. Offering encouragement rooted in God's Word, it will help you cling to Jesus and fight for joy when faced with a life you never expected.
“The Life We Never Expected is an honest, confessional, and hopeful book. It doesn’t flinch from telling the whole truth about the trials of parenting special-needs children, and it reminds us of our need for the gospel every day. This isn’t a book that’s going to tell you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and try harder. This is a book for those who are on the floor, weeping, because they need to know Jesus is with them.”
—Russell Moore, Public Theologian, Christianity Today; Director, Christianity Today's Public Theology Project
“What a great book! Andrew and Rachel’s surprise journey with their two autistic children opened the door to knowing God and his ways more deeply. They learned, or should I say experienced, that the gospel isn’t something you just believe; it is something you inhabit when God permits long-term suffering in your life. I’d recommend this book even if your family doesn’t have a child affected by disability—it is soul food.”
—Paul E. Miller, author, A Praying Life and J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life
“Andrew and Rachel Wilson help us see how uniquely difficult it is to parent children with special needs. Their candidness is infectious, inviting us to do what the church should do: laugh with those who laugh and mourn with those who mourn. Parents of special-needs children will find compassionate solidarity, honest wrestling, voiced frustrations, and, most importantly, the gospel. Many will read this book and feel understood. Others of us need to read this book to understand, so that we can walk alongside those in the midst of hardship with compassion.”
—Nate Pyle, Pastor, Christ’s Community Church, Fishers, Indiana; author, Man Enough: How Jesus Redefines Manhood
Format: Paperback