Our Altered Life by Charlene Beswick

The Book ✯✯✯✯

In her beautiful debut novel, Charlene Beswick has told her story of grief and triumph in raising her twins, Harry and Oliver.

Harry is her sweet special needs son with Goldenhar Syndrome and Autism. Oliver is his fiercely protective brother. And Charlene is the strong and courageous mother moving mountains to bring her boys the best life she possibly can.

I cannot imagine the hurt and pain of being "welcomed to Holland," because my own child is a thriving, typical little one. But Charlene does a careful job of crafting a recipe of pure honesty with dashes of hope to which any mother can relate. She never shies away that the beginning was hard, or that life is sometimes still hard. She also spends quite a bit of time on how everything affected Oliver as the typical child. And her adoration for her children absolutely shines through the words on the page.

It isn't a long memoir, and it certainly does not drag. By the end of it, I felt like I had become a part of her inner circle and felt incredibly privileged to be given this door into her life. I cried with her, I laughed with her, and I found myself constantly wanting to reach out and say "You're not alone! I've felt this way as a mom, too. Keep rocking it."

For any mother that has been delivered news that your incredible, beautiful child isn't "typical." For any friend of that mother. Read. This. Book. 

For any mothers to incredible, beautiful, typical children that need to know they aren't alone when they feel like they've failed their child or that they aren't giving enough (when really they're giving it their all): you, too, will find this book rejuvenating. 

It was my true pleasure to read an ARC provided for free by Charlene Breswick in exchange for an honest review.