Episode 19: Jamie Sumner

I’m not a parent yet, but I think it’s safe to say parenting is hard. Parenting a child with special needs adds a whole new layer of challenges. Author Jamie Sumner’s son Charlie has Cerebral Palsy. Her new book, Eat, Sleep, Save the World: Words of Encouragement for the Special Needs Parent, offers comfort, advice, and encouragement for other parents of children with special needs.

She describes the challenges, but also the beauty, of parenting a child with special needs. I really appreciated how vulnerable and open she was both in this book and this conversation. We recorded this a couple weeks ago before a lot of the Coronavirus craziness started to happen, so there’s not much talk about that here. Maybe that’s a good thing. I hope this conversation can provide some relief from the onslaught of negative news that surrounds us currently.

Aside from authoring books, Jamie also contributes to the New York Times, Washington Post, and other publications. And, like Jamie, I used to be a high school English teacher, so I enjoyed talking about our teaching experiences. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you’re a parent.

Links

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