Reading Lonely Girl, Gracious God gave this reviewer a new perspective on the world of Autism

Review done by Judy

When I was given the opportunity to review the book Lonely Girl, Gracious God by Lauri Khodabandehloo, I was thrilled for the chance to get a glimpse into the lives of another family that has dealt with autism. As I read this book, memories from my life growing up with an autistic brother came flooding back to my mind but an entirely new perspective was given to me as I read of a mother’s heartache and struggles in realizing her child would never live a “normal” life, and her fight to help her child try to overcome all of her differences.

While reading this book, there were times I wanted to scream at the mother because of her stubbornness and reluctance to accept Farema for who she was and get her the help she needed so badly. It took me a great portion of the book to come to understand how different it was when Farema was born (only 5 or so years before my brother), when autism was not understood, and utterly feared by most parents if they had even heard about it. I came to relate more with Lauri as I put myself in her shoes and began to feel the fear and uncertainty associated with such a terrifying affliction at the time. It breaks my heart to think of how much better a life Farema and other children with autism raised during that time could have led if only doctors, parents and friends had known what autism was.

Of all the lessons I learned through reading this book, the greatest lesson I learned is that I cannot judge Lauri, or anyone else for the choices they made. I can only take what I have learned from them and use it to better the lives of those around me. Lauri did the best she could with what she knew, and because of her pioneering efforts in understanding autism so many lives are better lived, especially those affected by autism.

Lonely Girl, Gracious God is a glimpse into the painful, difficult life of a mother who will likely never watch her little girl walk down the aisle or raise children of her own. This is the story of a mother who has had to watch all of the dreams she held for her daughter be dashed to pieces, and through faith and hope, replace those crushed dreams with new ones that only she and her daughter can truly appreciate reaching.

• Lonely Girl, Gracious God is written by Lauri Khodabandehloo
• ISBN 978-1935265467
• Published by Deep River Books
• Price: $13.99

I’m so grateful to Bring It On Communications for the opportunity to review this book for free. To read more reviews like this one, 
go to Tell Us The Truth Reviews!