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Informationen zum Autor Meg Zucker is the founder and president of Don’t Hide It, Flaunt It, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of advancing understanding and mutual respect for people’s differences. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and New York University School of Law, she is also the U.S. Head of Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime at the Royal Bank of Canada. Klappentext "Born Extraordinary helps parents of children with differences and disabilities to relinquish their instinctive anxieties, embrace their new normal, and ultimately find joy in watching their children thrive. Often the subjects of unwanted attention-ranging from pitying stares to bullying-Zucker and her sons have learned to ignore what others think and live fearlessly. Also incorporating the stories of other families with visible and invisible differences of all kinds, Born Extraordinary gives parents the tools to meet their children's emotional needs while supporting the whole family unit. Parents learn how best to empower their children to confront others' assumptions, grow in confidence, and encourage dialogue-rather than silence, fear, and shame-around difference"-- Leseprobe CHAPTER 1 Embracing the New Normal I've often heard people use the expression "My world was turned upside down" to describe incidents as frivolous as finding out their favorite hairdresser moved to another state. But the phrase is intended to capture something that is truly shocking or upsetting. To me, it is aptly applied when your child arrives or unexpectedly becomes different. Embracing your new normal is not a sprint but a marathon. And whether the news comes when you are pregnant or later on, it is easy to be tortured by guilt. As my own mother described it after having me, she felt almost insane with anguish. That got me thinking about what types of feelings a parent can expect when their child is born different. It can start out rough, mimicking the stages of grief: Shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger, bargaining, and possibly depression, but then comes the upward turn. You begin to work through your family's new normal-finally arriving at acceptance and hope. In the end, you'll even come to appreciate that the experience provided a deep level of fulfillment you hadn't been seeking and didn't even realize you were lacking. As with anything worthwhile, your struggle, and rising to the occasion, will be joyfully rewarded. Your child's difference will even become something to celebrate. But first things first. How Low I Sank I think it's important for me to first take a step back and describe my own personal fears and struggles when faced with the reality that I'd be a parent of a child who was different. While all that pain is thankfully behind me, it's impossible to fully appreciate how far I've come without learning how low I sank. And if you're feeling down at this moment, know you are not alone and there is a light at the end of what feels like a dark and ominous tunnel. A few months after John and I got engaged, he understandably wanted to make sure we saw a specialist to ensure we were fully informed before trying to start a family. Although he suspected my condition was genetic, he also didn't make it a deal breaker. Yes, I know John's a keeper. I've had the good fortune of marrying a man who has tolerated my whims and, most important, loved me unconditionally long before I felt that way about myself. I reluctantly agreed to go to the geneticist, but still tried to convince him that our children wouldn't share my condition. How was I so certain? Because before I met John, instead of poring through books on ectrodactyly or dominant gene mutations, I received the assurance I needed . . . from a psychic named Reese. I had graduated from law school the year before and was sitting in the front room of her tiny apartment on 14th Street and First Aven...
