road map to holland

i've only read a handful of books from beginning to end.  don't get me wrong i have tons of books, many of them follow whatever interest i have at any given time.  probably my largest collection is between art books and meditation books.  now it seems i'm building another kind of collection, you guessed it, books that have anything to do with down syndrome. the majority of my time with books is about learning something.  i don't usually find myself reading fictional books or biographies.  i do however love to skim through books that offer information, something i can use to better my life.  but lately among my stash of educational books on down syndrome i have been starting a collection of books that tell a story.  

the book that i can say i've read from cover to cover just recently is  Road Map to Holland: How I found My Way Through My Son's First Two Years with Down Syndrome, by Jennifer Graf Groneberg.  i have to say i did most of my reading while expressing my breast milk for maya.  at first it was just something i could do while sitting there for 20 or so minutes.  but after a while it became something i would look forward to because the story

 she tells, well i could relate to.  there were scenes in the book that felt just like my life.  and it gave me things to think about.  i've been thinking that this is what makes a good book.  of course i've been wondering if anyone who does not have a child with down syndrome would read this book. but there must be a big audience because i noticed while doing my search for books about down syndrome that there are a lot out there.  the range covers personal accounts of parents with children with down syndrome, children's books explaining down syndrome, to more technical books on how to help your children excel.  it's very encouraging to see all these books.  

i really enjoyed road map to holland because the author just seems like a regular person, just like me.  and the sharing of her experience really helped me not feel so alone.  she also has a blog named pinwheels which i try to read when i get a chance.