Do You Need to Get Your Joy Back?

by JoleneFeb 16, 2015Books and Resources, Special Needs Parenting25 comments

Are you raising a child with special needs? Perhaps struggling a little—or a lot—as your child’s needs mount and your energy and spirits flag? Then Laurie Wallin’s new book, Get Your Joy Back: Banishing Resentment and Reclaiming Confidence in Your Special Needs Family is for you. And so is the book give away contest you’ll learn more about in just a few minutes.

Meet the Author of Get Your Joy Back

Laurie writes from experience as a mother of four daughters, two of them adopted out of foster care and with significant mental health and behavioral special needs. She’s been a staunch advocate for her daughters with doctors, mental health care practitioners, educators, and at church for more than a decade. But somewhere along the way, the demands of special needs parenting stripped away her joy. Get Your Joy Back is the story of how Laurie lost her joy and found it again.

How You Can Get Your Joy Back

But Get Your Joy Back is more than Laurie’s story. It’s also a book about how you can get your joy back as the parent of a child with special needs. Laurie gently guides readers through a tour of the people who can drain parents of joy—starting with themselves and moving on to their children, spouses, extended families, professionals, the church, the community and even God. She gently encourages parents to forgive those joy drainers (Not that God needs our forgiveness, as Laurie makes perfectly clear. But we need to come to grips with the hard things He allows into our lives and the lives of our children.) and then to regain joy through practical steps and examples from her own life and the lives of other parents. The book is easy to read, not too long (because the author knows parents of kids with special needs don’t have much spare time), and packed with the perfect balance of empathy and motivation to change.

Learn More About Laurie and Get Your Joy Back

To get to know Laurie a little better, take a peek at the trailer for the book. You’ll find a downloadable excerpt of Get Your Joy Back here.

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By Jolene

Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.

25 Comments

Doris Lindley on February 28, 2015 at 9:42 pm

Struggling with our 45 year-old daughter’s decline. Sounds like this book could be helpful.
Nikki V on February 24, 2015 at 10:03 pm

joy is what I’ve reLly been struggling with. This book would be a blessing.
Laurie Wallin on February 24, 2015 at 11:42 am

Kathy, I hear you. It never does feel quite balanced, and the work will always be there for us to do. Praying for clarity, energy, and joy as you pursue not just what’s best for your little one, but for you and the advancing of God’s heart for your life.
Sylvia Phillips on February 24, 2015 at 11:41 am

Thanks for sharing at Faith, Hope, and Love! I’ve read the book and loved it!
Kathy Bever on February 24, 2015 at 11:40 am

I’ll be reading this book whether I win or buy it. Right now I am dealing with Iep for Angel and what is best for her. She will be 5 in about a month. I see ALL of her and I and my hubby are not just dealing with the ‘intellectual’ disability but trying to figure out the emotional and social disability and what is best for her. If i am not careful, I can get so overwhelmed and I feel I have lost something of myself and of her. It is a struggle but it has so many benefits-people just don’t get that. It is a balancing act that never seems quite balanced.
Tara Montague on February 24, 2015 at 11:28 am

I’d like to read this book and share it with the other parents that I work with. I do feel like I’m missing some joy in my life and would love to get it back. This book is timely to what I’ve been experiencing and I am very much looking forward to reading Laurie’s thoughts.
Kim Stewart on February 23, 2015 at 7:28 pm

I’d love to read this book & share it with our special needs ministry. I have a son with autism & while he brings great joy to our lives, the worries about parenting now & how he will be cared for in the future can sometimes steal that.
Kelly on February 23, 2015 at 7:27 pm

It looks like this book would be an encouragement to anyone raising a child with special needs (including me)! Would love to read it.
Donn King on February 23, 2015 at 7:26 pm

Thought I had already replied, but things have progressed even since then. After I first saw this, the major winter storm that has been in the news ripped through Tennessee. Our nurses were unable to reach the house to care for Hannah, so my son and I took care of her ourselves for 48 hours. My son was very sick himself. Late Monday night we lost our power, so about 36 out of the 48 hours were by flashlight, and prayers that her battery backups would last. Someone told us about a Red Cross shelter, and with Hannah’s equipment on its last legs in the middle of a blizzard, we managed to reach the shelter. When the power finally came back on Thursday, the temperature inside the house was down to 34 degrees (it was below zero outside that night). We are fairly sure we’ll be able to return home tomorrow (Sunday). It has been a very rough week, most of it overlaid with stress focused on Hannah’s welfare. But at the same time, the Red Cross folks have been great; we had a warm, dry place
(at least after Wednesday); we’ve not gone hungry; and Hannah’s nurses have been able to reach her more easily (again, starting Wednesday). It is quite possible to be exhausted, bone tired, and every joint aching (I’m too old to be sleeping on a cot [smile]), and also to find joy in the middle of it all. I’d love a book like this to support ongoing finds of that sort. I don’t think this is the last crisis we will have.
Sherri R. Adelman on February 23, 2015 at 7:25 pm

I would like to win this book so I could send it to my friend Lesa whose daughter was just diagnosed with Krabbe disease. The life expectancy of an infant with this disease is only 2 years. Apart from a miracle from God, their sweet daughter Tori will be facing a rough next year and a half or more God willing. You can read more of their story at: http://thebrackbills.wordpress.com/
Kelley on February 23, 2015 at 7:24 pm

Boy, would I love to read this book! As a mom to two differently-a led kids, I feel like I have lost myself and my joy.
Susan Spann on February 23, 2015 at 7:23 pm

I myself am special needs and would love to read a book that is uplifting and encouraging.
April Brodzeller on February 23, 2015 at 7:22 pm

This book looks great! I have a 19 month old daughter with a Congenital Heart Defect. She is doing very well….but I still struggle with fear, worry, resentment, and depression. Would love to get my JOY back!
Jolene on February 23, 2015 at 7:18 pm

Thanks for checking back, Allison. My website moved to a new server this weekend, but most of the comments bade last week did not. But I have the names and emails of everyone who commented so you are all entered for the drawing! Jolene
Allison M on February 23, 2015 at 4:24 pm

I thought I posted a comment the other day – but don’t see it? I really could use this book – because losing joy is exactly what has happened to me over the past several years b/c of the stress of our child’s needs.
Anne Wansing on February 20, 2015 at 8:38 am

I would love this book. The teenage years are a struggle with all the hormones running around the body.
Carolyn E Stinnett on February 17, 2015 at 8:50 pm

I became the Mom of a survivor of shaken baby syndrome when he was 11 months old. He is now 16 but physically and mentally is the equivalent of a 6 month old (unable to talk, sit alone, stand, walk). Caring for a teenager who is almost as big as me is much more draining physically and mentally than caring for a young child; I often feel alone in my struggles. I work as a college instructor part-time and often feel pulled in a dozen directions. My friendships often suffer because I frequently have to cancel plans at the last minute when my son has a seizure or other medical emergency. Reading this book would connect me with someone who lives in my world, totally understands, and can provide some constructive advice. Any resource that brings me closer to God and a better mother to my precious son is just what I need!
amber carr on February 17, 2015 at 4:11 pm

In the last 3 1/2 years we have had 2 sons born with undiagnosed, life threatening birth defects. I feel we just got out of survival mode and were catapulted right back into it. We were just able to start breathing again, now we are back to constantly holding our breath, just waiting and trying to keep the fear and panic at bay. We have to, we don’t have a choice. For the sake of our family, we need our joy back!
Candy on February 17, 2015 at 9:36 am

I am struggling with this so bad right now. My son is in a “block” right now and is so anxious about eating. Also doing school assignments are a struggle for him right now. He has multiple diagnoses with one being Sensory Intergration Disorder. I have been so stressed and anxious feeling as though I have failed as a parent, a spouse and to God. My temper has been quick and I have spent several nights crying over this overwhelming feeling of despair. I have had to walk away to keep from screaming at the top of my lungs more times than I want in the past 2 weeks. I feel I can’t make my son’s anxiety better if I am not better. Looking for my joy so I can be the person I once was and a light my son can took towards for guidance. I want nothing more than this burden lifted. I broke down last night and turned it all over to God. Praying for a better day.
Sherry on February 17, 2015 at 9:35 am

It has been a very challenging 17 years, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I would love to read this book, mainly because as a single mom with very minimal support, it feels good to know that you aren’t alone.
Christine on February 17, 2015 at 9:02 am

I just watched the video and cried & cried. This is exactly how we live each day! I would love to read this book or get a copy! Thanks
Julie Holmquist on February 16, 2015 at 9:36 pm

I find myself in “survival mode” a lot, but I know there’s so much more. Joy..I need to choose that every day–sometimes multiple times a day. My joy in my circumstances will draw people to Christ in such a way that maybe my words alone can’t.
Christy Lube on February 16, 2015 at 12:55 pm

My friend Lena highly recommends it, which is reason enough for me. We have 3 girls, 1 is homeschooled (sophomore in high school). We have 1 in public middle school who has already been diagnosed with anxiety issues, and we are looking at bringing her home next year as well. The youngest is in public elementary school, and really wants to give middle school a shot, and things have gotten enough worse with her the past few months that we will be pushing harder for a concrete diagnosis. Some days are truly wonderful, and many days I think I’ve forgotten what joy feels like.
Diana on February 16, 2015 at 10:14 am

this past year has been too much. I feel like we are in survival mode and doing okay at it. Wishing we could find the good again..
Donn King on February 16, 2015 at 9:29 am

Oh, man, do I need this book. We live a contradiction: each day is precious in itself, and everything is OK and perfect just as it is, and at the same time nothing in life is as it “should” be, and we live in a pressure cooker of uncertainty. One day at a time will get you through, but it can also drive you crazy. I sense that there is practical wisdom in this book, which I would love to sample.