It’s never a good sign when you are trying to read a
book to write a review on it and you cannot see through the tears.
Every time I pick up one of the Thinking Moms Revolution family of
books, I am moved beyond belief. There is power in sharing our stories
with each other.
For most
Grandparents, it comes as a complete shock to realize the difference in
the vaccine schedule from when their kids were babies to now. I know I
had 5 vaccines, and my parents had even fewer. Because you don’t see in
mainstream media the changes that have come about in the vaccine
schedule, aside from the constant barrage of fear based advertising,
most grandparents assume that the vaccine program has stayed similar.
After all, in 30ish years, the human immune system shouldn’t have
changed that much. Evolution takes time. The realization for a
generation of people who have been so conditioned to worship the white
coat - that the white coat is not the be all end all – can create
some major cognitive dissonance.
The
19 Grandparents who submitted stories to this collection have all
jumped in to help their children heal their grandchildren from this
thing called Autism. They’ve had to recalibrate their concepts of what a
healthy child looks like and of what appropriate parenting looks like.
They’ve moved in with their kids, they’ve emptied their retirements,
they’ve been supportive beyond belief. Their stories about their
grandchildren’s journey with autism, told through the lens of the
grandparent provide hope. Hope that there can be a multigenerational
community taking the role of the proverbial village. Hope that cooler
heads – who remember that measles is not a death sentence (my own mother
had it every year of school and she’s still around at age 70) can ask
the common sense questions about why as a species our immune systems are
suddenly so weak that we need this artificial immunity. Hope that our
own families will agree to support our wacky research and treatments.
And
when it all comes down to it, the biggest gift any grandparent can give
their child who has just been given a diagnosis of autism for their
child is Hope and Love. And the occasional date night.
To purchase the book, Revolutionary Grandparents, please click here.
To purchase the book, Revolutionary Grandparents, please click here.
2 comments:
Thank you for this wonderful blog. I am always amazed at how many grandparents are ready to step in and help their families cope with autism. In my chapter in the book "Song of Sweetwater." was a attempt to convey through my poetry, the profound sadness, yet hope and love for my grandson, Josh.
Masurine Meleck
I am looking forward to reading this! I have a son who has autism and is now
18 yrs old. My Mother was one of my biggest saving graces. It was here love and strength that helped me to keep faith alive during the years when my son was nonverbal.
This book had so many coincidences for me, I feel like I am getting an extra special nudge to read it! It says it will be released on June 7th, which is my birthday. Dominic, was my Fathers name as your grandson. We have a white labradoodle that looks very much like the one pictured in these blog posts, And you! Well...your red hair is the same color as my daughters!
Message delivered...cant wait to read it! I hope to see vaxxed soon...both my kids where vaccine injured.
Blessings,
Donna
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