Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him, by Sally and Nathan Clarkson. This mini review features a book told in two parts, as mother and son take turns telling their story.
In Different, Sally Clarkson and her son Nathan take turns telling their story of learning to live with and find the strengths in Nathan’s differences. (His challenges include OCD, ADHD, and ODD.) Neither mother nor son attempts to minimize the hardships caused by mental illness. Neither tries to glorify the childhood of someone who can’t help arguing with everyone and who has obsessive compulsions. But they offer hope and the promise of God’s grace to those who have differences or who have children with differences.
What I found most encouraging?
- Sally’s affirmations that it’s worth the extra time and effort to show understanding and grace to a defiant-seeming child.
- Nathan’s short chapter intros sharing his perspective on difficult situations (often brought on by his own actions and words). These gave me insight and helped me have more understanding and patience with others.
Those of us who have a child who is different can glean encouragement and strength from both of their perspectives.
Favorite Quotes:
“I learned to appreciate and celebrate difference (not just “cope with it”) because all human beings are a work of the Artist and have infinite value to the One who made them.”
–Sally Clarkson, ch. 1
“My reputation as a parent was safe with God even when my children threw tantrums, displayed immaturity, or engaged in outside-the-box behavior. And God really did care about my sacrament of praise to Him in the small moments when no one but He saw.”
–Sally Clarkson, ch. 2
“Gradually it dawned on me that God did not show me all of my selfish issues and shortcomings at one moment. Instead, He graciously allowed me to mature over a lifetime—little by little, one shortcoming at a time.”
–Sally Clarkson, ch. 3
“…he was not a problem to be addressed, not the sum of his behavioral performance. His worth to God was not about his ability to fulfill other people’s expectations or act according to accepted norms. Instead he was a beloved child of the Father with a specific role to play in God’s ongoing story of redemption.”
–Sally Clarkson, ch. 5
Find the book here. You can also listen to it on Audible.
You may also be interested in reading Sally Clarkson’s book, Awaking Wonder.