The Kid-Friendly ADHD Autism Cookbook

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

One of the challenges that parents face is coping with children who have picky appetites and crave the very foods that negatively affect their behavior, focus, and development. Linked to this is the challenge of finding ways to get their children to eat the healthy foods that will improve their nutrition. This book provides suggestions for feeding picky eaters, including those with texture issues.

The 3rd edition of The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook provides a current and greatly expanded review of the most commonly used diets that are important in the treatment of ADHD and autism. There are recipes appropriate to specific diets as indicated by icons and descriptors with each recipe. The authors share details about just how and why each diet works, examine specialty ingredients in-depth, and provide extensive resources and references.

My thoughts-

Once upon a time I had an older edition of this book at my home. I am not sure what happened to it, but I was definitely interested in this update. This version, the 3rd edition of The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook is a plethora of great information. There are some wonderful break downs of the different diets that might help kids with these neurological differences. I am familiar with a few but not all of these diets so it was nice to have them all explained and how each might help or which one might be right for your kid or kids. I found that all of the recipes included were kid friendly enough to work for our family. I think this is a book that is worth having for any parent with a kid with adhd or autism. 

It's Not Fair by Melanie Dale (Book Review)

Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchance for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

Hey, you. Are you debating whether to destroy something with your bare hands or curl up on the couch for a decade or two?

This book will solve all of your problems. (Sheesh, that's aiming a bit high.)

This book is a cup of hot coffee, a ginormous bar of chocolate, or the magical fairy that comes over and does your dishes while you lie in the fetal position clutching a fluffy pillow.

Sometimes when life falls apart the only acceptable response is hysterical laughter. When things get so far gone, so spectacularly a world away from any plans you made or dreams you dreamed, you feel it bubbling up inside of you and you scream, “It's not fair!” And it isn't. Fair is an illusion, and life is weird.

This book will help you laugh at life's absurd backhands. This book is an empathetic groan of our collective unfairnesses. You might want to throw it across the room, and you might want to hug it like your new best friend. This book is about us sitting down together in our shared mess, taking a deep breath, gripping hands, looking the hard stuff in its beady little eyeballs, and bahahahaaing at it.

Life's not fair, but we can learn to love this life we didn't choose.

My thoughts-

A while back I saw a book on Amazon that caught my attention and was on sale called Women Are Scary:The Totally Awkard Adventure of Finding Mom Friends. My best friend and I both bought it, read it together, laughed our hineys off and commiserated as we related to many of the scenarios in the book. When I saw Melanie Dale wrote another book that I figured I could relate to called It's Not Fair, I knew it would be a book I needed to read. This is a book about things happening in adulthood that we didn't expect. Maybe you have a kid with a diagnosis (adhd, autism, ect.) or maybe you got sick. We all have something, I am sure of it. This book was once again easy to relate to for me. It was easy to understand where the author was coming from when she shared personal experiences of her own life's journey and yes, this book was also funny. I may not have laughed out loud as much as I did during the first book, but this was a more serious matter. I still appreciate the use of humor to get through life's hardships. Sometimes it's just nice to feel like someone else gets how you feel, and I think that most people, at least most of the people I know, would get that feeling from this book.

It's Not Fair by Melanie Dale will be available for purchase on August 16. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon.com.

Connect with Melanie Dale on Facebook

Connect with Melanie Dale on Twitter

unexpected.org

The Life We Never Expected by Andrew & Rachel Wilson Book Review + Giveaway

Disclosure of material connection- I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that Iwould mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guidelines Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

About the book-

Sometimes life throws you a curveball.

Andrew and Rachel Wilson know what it means to live a life they never expected. As the parents of two children with special needs, their story mingles deep pain with deep joy in unexpected places. With raw honesty, they share about the challenges they face on a daily basis—all the while teaching what it means to weep, worship, wait, and hope in the Lord. Offering encouragement rooted in God's Word, this book will help you cling to Jesus and fight for joy when faced with a life you never expected.

My thoughts-

The Life We Never Expected is a raw and honest account from a couple who have two children, who both happen to have autism. The book is about how they feel as they navigate the diagnosis more than about what you should do or how you should act or how you should feel if you also have a child with autism or other special needs. I appreciated how easy it was to relate to these parents and how open they were about the different feelings they have dealt with from shock to grief to frustration and yes, even happiness and some degree of acceptance. I like that the book isn't trying to tell anyone what to do or how to act or how to feel, but just one family's story. A family that will make other autism (and other special needs) families feel less isolated in their feelings. I recommend this book to any parent of special needs children, particularly autism, but I think that this is a good book for anyone to read. It may help someone from outside the realm of autism relate and interact better with those who live this life daily. 

Enter via the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a copy of the book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway