Amazon.com releases "Easy to Love but Hard to Raise" anthology

Amazon.com has just released the anthology “Easy to Love but Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories" from DRT Press. Order your copy here. 

Here’s the book blurb:

If there's anything the 32 parent-writers and 15 experts of Easy to Love but Hard to Raise want you to know, it's this: 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. We've been there. We've done that. We've navigated the system. Some of us succeeded. Some failed. We've been judged by friends, teachers, family, & strangers. We've gotten the phone calls & the looks. We've done things we never thought we'd do, good & bad. We've been up nights, cried in our pillows, and screamed in frustration. We've doubted ourselves, our children, & our partners. We've had to educate everyone, including our children's doctors. We are parents of children with alphabet soup diagnoses, invisible special needs, behavioral problems.Our children are easy to love, but oh, so hard to raise. 

Easy to Love but Hard to Raise is an anthology of personal essays written by parents of children with ADD, ADHD, OCD, PDD, ASDs, SPD, PBD and/or other alphabet soup diagnoses that takes the already difficult job of parenting and adds to the challenge. 

These essays focus on honest feelings, lessons learned, epiphanies, commonplace and extraordinary experiences. They are written by parents of toddlers, young children, teens, and adult children; those who are in the parenting trenches now, and those looking back on their parenting experiences. 

Topics include : how children came to be diagnosed, the experience of dealing with problem behaviors in various contexts and settings, experiences with/feelings about treatment (therapies, medications, alternative treatments), school (and other advocacy) experiences, children's social interactions/friends, and the effect of parenting a difficult child on a parent's emotional and physical health, marriage, and other relationships.

I’m one of these 32 parent-writers. My essay is entitled “The Great Third Grade AIDS Scare.” Buy the book. Read the essays. You’ll have a much better idea about the challenges faced by kids with ADHD, OCD, PBD, etc. – and their parents.

I’ve written a number of hummingbirdminds' posts about the struggles our children have had with ADHD, ADD, learning disabilities, addiction and mental illness. You can look them up!

"Easy to Love but Hard to Raise" has a Facebook fan page. Check it out here.