The Life We Never Expected: Hopeful Reflections on the Challenges of Parenting Children with Special Needs

“This is a helpful book both for those experiencing disability in their families and for those who love such familiesnot because of how the Wilsons are dealing with disability but in how they rightly orient to our great and purposeful God. Having parented a child with multiple disabilities for more than two decades, I smiled regularly at their honest portrayal of life with disability. Anger, disappointment, and confusion along with delight and insight are offered in right measures. As both Andrew and Rachel point out, families like ours frequently do not experience the great resolution about the circumstances of our lives, but we can always trust the promises of the One who made and sustains us and who will ultimately make all things new.”

“I am not a parent of children with special needs. In fact, Im not a parent at all. Even so, I couldnt put this book down. The Life We Never Expected is about so much more than parenting. It is about loss, lament, hope, humility, contentment, joyand about finding God to be more than sufficient through it all.”

“In a striking display of honesty and depth, Andrew and Rachel Wilson explore the tension of faith and reality in this moving book. What I love most is that its written in real time. They reflect on the pain and joy not after the fact but while they are experiencing it. The Life We Never Expected is one of those books you have to force yourself to put down. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will celebrate the goodness of Godeven in the midst of suffering.”

“Andrew and Rachel Wilson help us see how uniquely difficult it is to parent children with special needs. Their candidness is infectious, inviting us to do what the church should do: laugh with those who laugh and mourn with those who mourn. Parents of special-needs children will find compassionate solidarity, honest wrestling, voiced frustrations, and, most importantly, the gospel. Many will read this book and feel understood. Others of us need to read this book to understand, so that we can walk alongside those in the midst of hardship with compassion.”

“This is a poignant and delightfully forthright book, written by parents who are still clearly raw from their experiences. Here is hard-earned wisdom, biblical realism, and winning sensitivity. Recommended for all in the throes of suffering and for all who would comfort them.”

“Weeping, worshiping, waiting, witnessing, and breathing. These are the constant rhythms of my life as a parent to a son with autism. These are also the rhythms of Andrew and Rachel Wilsons life, beautifully and delicately illustrated in The Life We Never Expected. The Wilsons have managed to do what no other authors haveprovide me with clear, promising hope as a special-needs parent and allow me the sacred practice of saying, Me, too. Profoundly moving and deeply rooted in the love of Jesus, this book is exactly what I needed. It is a tremendous gift.”

“What a great book! Andrew and Rachels surprise journey with their two autistic children opened the door to knowing God and his ways more deeply. They learned, or should I say experienced, that the gospel isnt something you just believe; it is something you inhabit when God permits long-term suffering in your life. Id recommend this book even if your family doesnt have a child affected by disabilityit is soul food.”

“The Life We Never Expected is an honest, confessional, and hopeful book. It doesnt flinch from telling the whole truth about the trials of parenting special-needs children, and it reminds us of our need for the gospel every day. This isnt a book thats going to tell you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and try harder. This is a book for those who are on the floor, weeping, because they need to know Jesus is with them.”