From Stormy Seas To Calmer Waters (ISBN: 978-1-8383142-3-1)

At times, we wonder how it all happened, how we got to this point in our lives. We began to think about why this had happened to us, what we had done to deserve this. It took us years to realise that nothing we had done had caused this; it was simply a result of things beyond our control.

It could be so easy to label ourselves as victims. To be honest, we felt life had let us down. We have very sick children with a disease that cannot be cured. We learned that they also have autism and then another blow; I was also given a serious diagnosis. Any person with all of this weight to carry might well feel like a victim, so why shouldn’t we? Why shouldn’t we both say “why me?” We’re sure many parents of children with autism reading this book may well feel the same. It’s ok to say this. In fact, we believe it’s crucial that you do. Saying it out loud both allows you to admit it and then deal with it. We were victims, if we even use that word, of a difficult and deeply complex set of circumstances. We have discovered, however, that there is more to this; it doesn’t end here, not like this, not for us. This admission helped us to feel empowered, and to believe that we could, somehow, find a way through the highs and lows in this story called “life.” But. More challenges were to come the way of our family unit. More of this later.