Love Tears & Autism: An Australian mother's journey from heartbreak to hope

by Cecily Paterson

What do you do when your dream for a 'happy family' isn't working out? Where do you go when no one can help your child? When Cecily Paterson's son was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), Cecily's life was thrown into chaos. Daily life became a daily struggle and everything she'd ever thought about love seemed to be turned upside down. In the end, she'd have to learn to trust God, learn to love, and do just as much learning and growing as her beautiful little boy. _____________________________________ After her son's ASD diagnosis, Cecily went looking for a book that would give her not only practical help, but also emotional support and spiritual solace. She never found it, so she wrote it. Read Love Tears & Autism if you have a child with a disability, or if your friend or family member lives with autism. Or just read it if you like a good real-life story where God's grace shines through. Love Tears & Autism won third prize in the 2012 Australian Christian Book of the Year (ACBOY) awards. This second edition includes updated and revised resources and a 'Where are we now' chapter.

206 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2018

Reviews

[Tony Braithwaite · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially read the original edition of this book a few years after it was published in 2011. Since then I have reread this book because it has always resonated with me. My youngest grandson also has autism and was about 4 years old when I first read the original edition.

Similar experiences of the Paterson family were shared by my immediate family. Autism is a medical condition which exists in all cultures and has challenged many people from diverse backgrounds. We live in a ‘small world’ and also belong to a ‘bigger world.’ This book helps people to cope with an autism diagnosis and to always focus on hope that real improvement will occur.

This is another true-to-life real book written by a mother of a young autistic boy (Cameron). This book’s conversational style helps readers to easily follow the history of a boy’s journey with autism from the perspective of his mum’s dedication. In doing so, readers of this book learn about early warning signs and symptoms of autism. This is important because many children with signs and symptoms of autism are ignored and do not receive medical assessments.

For the mum writing this book, many uncomfortable experiences occurred which traumatised her. She became annoyed, angry and stressed with many uncaring medical people who didn’t listen to her genuine concerns. This is a natural response from a mum because mothers know when a child needs medical attention. Medical staff need to walk a mile or two in the shoes of caregivers who seek answers and solutions to medical conditions of their child or children.

This family experiences a roller coaster ride with autism. Even the boy’s Christian Pastor dad is also traumatised. However, their loyal Christian faith from overseas mission trips allows them to find inner strength to cope with their challenging lives.
This book explains the pathway of autism therapy for Cameron being Relationship Development Intervention (RDI). Also, the daily importance of Christian faith, belief, hope and patience shines in this real story.

A variety of endorsements are included in this book which reveals authenticity, believability and credibility.

[Dienece Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this journey of love by Cecily. I liked how it was arranged too. Sometimes, I got a little thrown off about how she kept going back in time every chapter to when he was first diagnosed or before then. However, I came to realize this was for organization. There were so many, many factors to the diagnosis it would have been messy had she dealt with them all as they happened. Instead, she took each issue and wrote about it to the end, so that anyone dealing with that issue themselves can read it from start to finish. Chapter 15 "Angry on the Couch" was my favourite; true love was something I had to learn with my sons. Chapter 17 "Dealing with the Aftermath" was very interesting as a spiritual journey. I enjoyed reading this, not because I have an autistic child, but just as an autobiographical sort of read. It had some good points I could walk away with to make sure I'm a better person and a better mother.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written memoir about a young mother's experience with finding out her son has Autism and learning to cope with that, and then helping him to flourish as a person.
Very well written, and interesting.

(Note this author also writes fiction novels for youth and has an excellent on-line course for anyone interested in learning how to write memoir. Visit "Red Lounge for Writers . com" to find it.

[Sarah Tummey]

I took my time with this because some parts made me feel a bit bleak, E.G. reading that 80% of couples who have children with disabilities eventually divorce. It’s not nice to feel that even though it’s not your fault, your very existence has put your family under pressure.

The author was very honest and I particularly related to the chapter where she talked about praying for healing.