Book Review–She is My Child

About the Book:

Book: She Is My Child

Author: Tammy Coulter

Genre: Memoir

Release date: June 7, 2022

In 2007, fourteen-month-old Ava was diagnosed with Morquio Syndrome, a rare, progressive, genetic disorder for which there was no treatment. The jarring news left her mother Tammy reeling and wondering what the future held for her daughter. As the days following the diagnosis blurred together, Tammy saw two paths before her—fall apart or fall into the arms of the Lord. For a time, she did both, struggling with her emotions one moment, feeling God’s peace the next, all while continuing to care for her young family. Slowly, through near-constant prayer and Bible study, her burgeoning faith grew stronger than her fear and distress, leading her to a path she hadn’t seen—one that would test her even more and offer help for Ava. In She is My Child, Tammy Coulter shares her spiritual journey, alongside Ava’s physical one, from diagnosis to surgeries to a long-anticipated Morquio clinical trial that had them flying to Chicago every week for more than two years. She reveals the most difficult moments and the greatest victories, as well as the humorous situations she and her daughter so often encountered, while highlighting God’s provision and what He taught her along the way.

My Thoughts:

I always enjoy memoirs. I enjoyed reading this book and following the journey of the author and her daughter as they received a diagnosis of a degenerative genetic disorder and what they did for Ava. The disorder itself reminded me of someone we knew who, at age 13, was diagnosed with a different disease, which also involved a missing enzyme that is intended to clean a particular waste material out of the body. However, there is no treatment for her condition, and the outcome was quite different. I found it fascinating, in She is My Child, to learn what it is like to participate in a clinical trial, and I certainly learned what it can be like to travel by plane every week! The accounts detailed in this book were quite interesting, but it got a little long-winded, as the author described almost every trip to Chicago for the infusions during the study period. I appreciated the way she shared her faith and how she grew in the Lord through this experience.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Tammy Coulter graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville with a communication arts degree and a certificate in technical communication. She was a technical editor until the birth of her son, when she became a stay-at-home mom. After the birth of her daughter, her role expanded to include researcher, student of the Psalms, and full-time prayer warrior. In addition to writing, she enjoys quilting, reading cozy mysteries, and studying Bible prophecy and current events. Tammy lives in Madison, Alabama, with her husband, two children, and their Jack Russell terrier.

More from Tammy:

When my daughter Ava was diagnosed with Morquio Syndrome, I was crushed and very frightened. Morquio is a progressive disorder and there was no treatment for it. How was my mother’s heart supposed to handle that? I’ll tell you how. By immersing myself in God’s Word. Only then did I begin to calm down and grow stronger in my faith, leaning on Him in ways I never had before. As I look back, I am still amazed at everything we went through and how God was present in all of it.

When we embarked on this trial, everything was new. The name of her disorder was new, seemingly constant doctor visits were new, and then, after four years of prayer for a treatment, a clinical trial for a new drug to treat Morquio was new. And so was the location. Chicago. That meant getting on a plane every week, also new, and flying there from Alabama, just me and my daughter who had just started kindergarten. It surely felt like God was doing a lot in such a short time. And He was. He took all the newness and turned it into both a testament to His provision and lasting memories for both of us. Not all of those memories are pleasant (the cab incident for one, though we joke about it now), but they remain as evidence of God taking care of us, bringing a sweetness to each remembrance. But, oh, so many of them are, and while we were going through something quite serious, the Lord, in His goodness, allowed us adventures, fun, laughter, and new friendships. Best of all, I had the most wonderful traveling companion who, at her tender age, taught me a thing or two along the way!

Just the other day, at a routine checkup, a specialist Ava sees said, “You just never cease to amaze me at how well you do.” I added that comment to so many other comments and experiences that have paved the path of my learning to turn to God first instead of immediately jumping into the quicksand of fear that will quickly suck me in if I let it. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Ava is now sixteen and the shy little girl I so worried over years ago currently wants to be a theater teacher.

I wrote this memoir to share how God provided for our family during a stressful period in our lives. It may make you cry some. I hope it makes you laugh a lot (let me tell you, Ava is a hoot). But the thing that would bring me the greatest joy is someone being encouraged in their own circumstances and life trials.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

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