Susan's Blog

Monday, February 2, 2009

Title Deed

Autism Mom: How to take care of yourself, your kids, and (shhh!) even have some fun
By Susan Senator Spring 2010, Trumpeter/Shambhala Publishing

“A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.”
–Helen Keller, The Simplest Way to be Happy (1933)

Prologue
Why this book? How do you have any fun?

Chapter 1: How We Think About Our Children’s Autism and How that Affects Our Happiness
Chapter 2: When “Fun” Means Fun With Our Kids
Chapter 3: The Great Therapy Chase: How to Stop and Smell the — whatever
Chapter 4: Happy With Who I Am…?
Chapter 5: Love, Autism Style: Our Marriages and …
Chapter 6: You and Me Against the World: Others Affecting Our Happiness
Chapter 7: Big Passages, Big Changes, and How We Live with Them
Chapter 8: The Negative Perception of Autism and Why it Affects Our Happiness
Chapter 9: Looking Towards the Future: What Do We Need for Happiness?
Epilogue

posted at 10:27 pm 20 comments

20 comments

Waaaah! This looks wonderful! Can’t wait to read it!

— added by Julie on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 5:51 am

…And you’re in it, Julie from Massachusetts! Fun With Our Kids chapter!

— added by Susan Senator on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 6:35 am

wow, love it already!…looks fab and from what I can tell deals with a lot of previously unchartered territory. Can’t wait to read it!

— added by eileen on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 6:53 am

Oh wow, it looks like a fantastic book!! I can’t wait to read it!!

— added by ASDmomNC on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 7:42 am

Oh Susan it looks fabulous!!!! Just what we all need too, there is nothing like this out there. Thanks for all you hard work, I cannot wait to get a copy! Penny

— added by Penny on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 10:37 am

Congratulations and thanks for publishing the chapter headings. After reading “Making Peace with Autism”, I can’t wait to read this one.

— added by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 11:23 am

Congratulations, Sue! You are awesome!

— added by Donna on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 11:29 am

Wow! I am so happy to see that quote by helen keller, she is one of my favorites and Punkin goes to a Helen keller school. Can’t wait to read the book. Your twin in Alabama

— added by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 4:28 pm

Looks great, Sue! And “I’m ready for my close-up!” (at least I hope I am) LOL. — Cathy in CT

— added by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 4:31 pm

@Eileen:
Biker Babes go in Chapter 4
@ASDmomNC: Love, Autism Style
@Cathy: Fun with Your Kids
@My Twin: Passages and Choices
@Penny: Inflatable Slide on Airplane, Chapter 1

and much much more!!
–Suzie

— added by Susan Senator on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Susan, you are my hero. THIS is the book that needs to be written–that we and our families have lives that are complex and fun and not solely defined by disability. I think when my daughter was first diagnosed I wasn’t able to believe this would be true. I know it now, but we need to communicate it to those who still may not realize it, and to all our peers who might feel “sorry” for us. That’s why I love your blog and philosopy, and your book will put it out there for so many more people to grasp. Life is rich.

— added by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 5:56 pm

Susan – An honor to be included in your book, thank you. One question for ya —–Inflatable slide on an airplane? For the life of me I cannot figure out how any of all the stuff I have told you about life/family/parenting relates to that in my life. Curiosity is killing me…tell me how it relates….Penny

— added by Penny on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 7:09 pm

Penny,
I meant that I used the Boardwalk scene at the shore… I am in the process of moving it to a different chapter, probably the one about our happiness and others, the world. I had it as an opener but it’s wrong there. The inflatable slide on the airplane is someone else: Donna K.

— added by Susan Senator on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 7:31 pm

Man, I don’t look like this anymore. Fat face happened.

— added by Susan Senator on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 7:34 pm

Wow, I wish I didn’t have to wait a year to read this…I need it now! Your books take a one-of-a-kind positive perspective which helps us all so much. Thanks.

— added by Candy on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 9:52 pm

I agree…this book has the potential to be a terrific resource for my students’ parents, and for me as well. I’m an SLP and will be ready to preorder it!

— added by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 11:11 pm

I can’t wait to read it!!! I agree with the previous posters…I could use that now! I really like the Love, Autism Style chapter. And you know; I would have never thought a life with hardships would be happy; but it is. And very much so I might add.

— added by Amy on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 11:21 pm

Oh thank goodness Susan! I thought, I have a lot of scenerios in my life, but none yet that involve my daughter and an inflatable slide off an airplane… though you never know, we head to DisneyWorld in March and it could happen! (I am knocking on every piece of wood I own right now) But the Boardwalk scene, oh, yes, that’s a keeper…Penny

— added by Penny on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 7:55 am

I can’t wait to read it either, put me down for that pre order as well. I think this will be a wonderful book to recommend to the mother standing next to you that has just gotten a diagnosis, that has just gotten a Neuropsych eval that’s not what she thought it would be. Some of us just need someone to reframe the circumstance that we find ourselves in to see the beauty in it. I thank you for writing this.

— added by Michael's Mom on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 8:43 pm

Sounds really interesting. Great idea.

— added by Casdok on Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 1:02 pm