When you think of celebrity Jenny McCarthy you may remember her from her MTV days of years ago, but she’s grown up now and has become a parent. Jenny is now a fierce Momma Bear and she’s bringing attention to a much needed cause: autism. As the mother of a child with special needs and autistic tendencies myself, I know the road Jenny McCarthy has walked down all too well.
In her book, Louder than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism, Jenny McCarthy details the personal ordeal of her son, Evan being diagnosed with autism. Reading the book, I laughed, I cried, and I got angry just as Jenny did. I felt like I was there with Jenny as she described Evan’s first seizure. From one mother of a special needs child to another, my heart was breaking as she detailed hospitalizations, doctor visits, medications, and the heartbreak she felt as a Mother.
Like many, it took awhile for the doctors to actually realize that Evan had autism. Just days after Evan’s autism diagnosis, Jenny had to go on several different talk shows promoting her latest book, Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth about the First Year of Mommyhood. At that point, no one aside from Jenny and her family, knew that Evan had autism and she had to get dolled up, be on camera, pretend everything was ok, and make us laugh all the while she was crying on the inside.
After Evan’s diagnosis, Jenny logged many long nights of researching her son’s condition on the internet; so many hours in fact that she has declared that she has a degree in Google research! She began doing everything she could to get Evan the proper treatment, therapies, etc. Jenny’s book is considered controversial by some as she talks a lot about what some believe is to be a cause of autism: vaccinations. She goes into great detail about how there are always going to be different opinions and how she is sharing her own opinion. She feels that vaccinations may not be the cause of all cases of autism, but she definitely feels that it is something the government and doctors need to start looking at. Some of the treatments and therapies she got for Evan were also considered controversial, but they have pretty much healed Evan.
All the while Jenny is going through all of this with Evan, her marriage is falling a part. Just another aspect that many of us go through as dealing with the special needs of a child can put intense strain and eventually end some marriages.
I must also warn you that this book has some colorful language, but gosh, going through what Jenny went through with Evan who wouldn’t blurt out an e every now and then? If someone you love is diagnosed with autism, if you want to simply learn more about what it is like to be the parent of an autistic child, or if you want to read about one mother’s journey to healing her child, then Louder than Words would be a great book for you to read. Regardless of what your beliefs may be about the vaccination controversy, this book is still a good read and gives readers something to think about.
by Coley S.
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