Mad Random: Claiming Life Out of Chaos

by Donna Miller

Overview

REVISED SECOND EDITION: Mad Random: Claiming Life Out Of Chaos chronicles one family's struggle to find normalcy while raising a son with severe emotional disabilities. Brutally honest, yet laugh out loud funny, this book shines a light on the anxiety, heartbreak and rage experienced by thousands of families seeking acceptance for their difficult, quirky children. This wild, gritty book ultimately leads readers to the miracles of hope and love.

I was asked recently what I hope people will learn from reading this new edition of Mad Random: acclaiming Life Out of Chaos. I am truly in awe of parents who gracefully answer the call to parent difficult kids. They teach me something every day for my Blog, madrandomparenting.com, and in my writing coaching work. There’s nothing I can give to these heroes except my invitation to find joy, love fully, believing in the gift of today. My wish is that reading this latest revision book can help provide parents and families inspiration and encouragement. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605713281
Publisher:	Northshire Bookstore
Publication date:	08/25/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Donna Miller is a passionate storyteller, published writer, teacher, political analyst, speechwriter, and child advocate. Ms. Miller contributes to national and international journals on wide-ranging topics such as family relationships, child advocacy, illness, injury prevention, and travel. Donna mentors entrepreneurial activists, helping to craft social and corporate messaging that bring new ideas to life. She leads consumers to better health decision-making, and ignites support for various parenting organizations. Her work has stirred community action and kick-started cultural change. Her second non-fiction book, Stalking Grace will be completed in 2017.

Editorial Reviews

2015-01-26
In this memoir, a mother shares her struggles raising her emotionally disabled son. At 41, after a series of failed pregnancies, Miller and her husband of 19 years brought Jack into their lives via private adoption. Jack was a physically beautiful baby, but it soon became apparent that he had severe emotional difficulties. Jack became a "changeling" before Miller's eyes; she writes that he "played with a slow, restless energy, never glancing in my direction, his back rigid and unwelcoming." She began a fruitless, yearslong journey through doctors, consultants, and drug trials that yielded no specific diagnosis or cure. Although Miller attempted home schooling, Jack was largely handled, albeit barely and sometimes badly, by the local school system. He was put into separate classes—what he termed the "dummy dump"—and by middle school, administrators claimed that they could no longer control him after he supposedly threatened to jump out of a closed second-story window. Miller's lawyer husband discovered that his son acted violently toward Miller, and Jack was eventually sent to a residential school for boys with emotional disabilities, where he stayed for three years. He returned home somewhat more controlled but was then a troubled teenager with new challenges; he was soon expelled from high school. Miller began to realize that she had to accept Jack as he was, not as she wanted him to be, and support his own pace and progress toward adulthood. Miller has written an affecting, candid account about raising an enigmatically disabled child. She offers critical commentary on the flaws of various medical and educational systems that she navigated yet also acknowledges how she had to modify her own behavior and expectations. She adds a healthy dose of humor, including Jack's rather pithy perceptions and observations. While certainly not a comprehensive resource guide, Miller's memoir offers insight and support to parents in similar situations. An honest, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting account of parenting a child with severe emotional difficulties.

Kirkus Reviews