Keeping Katherine : A Mother's Journey to Acceptance

Rating:
Summary: Honest Words
Review: I always scan the newest titles in the special needs section when I visit bookstores. My son, like Zimmermann's daughter, is profoundly disabled. I look for books that connect me to the author's experiences. It helps me to feel less alone. I really scored with this one.

Keeping Katherine is a wise book, exceptionally well-written and honest. Although I didn't go through the extended period of repressed grieving that the author did, I understand it. Among most of us with non-verbal, profoundly affected children, there is the ongoing experience of mourning. It rises and falls, and it doesn't take away the beauty we see in our sons and daughters, nor does it negate the powerful love we feel for them.

In the book, she writes, "To cope with Kat, I have sought out those people like Rita and Linda Orona, who loved Katherine as she was and took comfort from her. Those who held her close and looked directly in her eyes. Those who felt no embarrassment, but understood the peace of her presence."

Those words spoke to me. The book is a wonderful read for parents of children with disabilities, as well as anyone interested in the power of love.
Carolyn Murray
danielsgift.com