Different- Some Hope for the Mama of the Out-of-the-Box Child

Every child is unique and every child has their "issues" and challenges; but some children are a little out of the box in all areas, but specifically in the challenges department. There is a well earned general rule that parenting is straight up hard and each of your kids are individuals who need unique care, but some parents find that their child's needs are beyond the normal spectrum of child rearing. What a breath of fresh air to have a well known and much respected name in the Christian Mothering community step out and raise her hand and admit, "That's me." Sally Clarkson is not only an author I admire but also a "mentor" from a far- a woman whose life I greatly appreciate and strive to emulate. I always glean so much wisdom and practical insight from her books and am so impressed by the "fruit of her labors" that can be seen in her grown children. I really appreciate that she writes from a stage in life where she has seen the outcome of her methods and can share what was successful and what to avoid, but also has a humility and honesty that remembers what it was like to truly be in the trenches during the Little Years. 

In her latest book, Different: The story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him, Sally and her son, Nathan vulnerablely pull back the curtains on what it looked like for Nathan to grow up with multiple challenges- including OCD and learning issues and what it took for Sally to parent him well. Sally is very honest with how overwhelmed and frustrated she was at times, but also so faithful to share how God met her there and gave her the strength and wisdom she needed to rise up to the task of really seeing Nathan's heart and needs thru his "issues" and how to love him like he needed to be. Nathan has bravely chosen to allow God to use the many struggles he's wrestled with over the years to be a connection to others who can relate and an encouragement to what a great God (and a good mom) can do for an out-of-the-box kid!

Mother and Son chronicle the highs and lows of navigating a "different" kind of childhood. I could definitely empathize with Sally's struggle to just accept the cut and dry advice of christian parenting books who suggested just more discipline and consistency in it. I don't personally have a child with any above and beyond challenges but even just in raising some strong willed and high energy boys, I have sometimes had a hard time swallowing the notion of more sternness and less understanding and grace. I really feel this book will be a tremendous blessing to the mothers of those special "out-of-the-box" kids, I know it was a refreshment to my Mama heart.  

Thanks to Tyndale Publishers for providing me with this book to review!