
OVERALL RATING Excellent
STRENGTHS Well-organized source of information
WEAKNESSES None
AUDIENCE Family physicians and parents of disabled children
You will find no tragedy or sorrow in this spirited survival guide. It is a feisty and loving handbook that all Canadian families raising disabled children should have at their fingertips. This applies to doctors, too. Do family physicians know that mothers of disabled children can recall the moment they received their children’s diagnoses like it was yesterday? And that even years later these mothers can still quote verbatim what their doctors advised? Those words, at such critical times, sway parental expectations for their children’s future. Accordingly, this book should be on every physician’s shelf, in multiple copies for generous distribution. Arriving at this place of disability, Bendall tells her readers, “[this] happened to you without your bidding,” and there is a lot to learn, quickly. Herein is her purpose in writing.
In a voice that is compassionate and compelling, Bendall draws on first-hand knowledge and experience with disability. An experienced writer with a reputable publishing track record, she has compiled a book that is well written, carefully organized, and pleasingly packaged. Divided into 10 sections along a life-development continuum, it starts at the “Beginning” (the diagnosis) and ends with “Coming of Age” (the future). With a mix of personal stories, parental “pearls” of wisdom, and lists of resources, she delivers more information than narrative alone could offer. The expertise and primary caregiving role of mothers is emphasized, especially by the 10 main interviewees whose stories grace each chapter; however, mothers are subsumed in the collective of “parents” and “families.” I would have wished to see that gendered contribution made more explicit.
In presenting disability as a public issue and not a private matter, this guide is very much a book of these times. This book offers a large amount of information, not only for the parents for whom it is mostly targeted, but also for the many health-related, educational, and social service professionals who are an inextricable part of those relationships. It is highly recommended.
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