Letting the Light In: How a Baby with Down Syndrome Changed My Life

How does it feel to discover that there is something wrong with your baby?

Karen thought she had the perfect family. She had everything organised and under control. But when her seventh child, Martha, was born with Down Syndrome, Karen’s world was shaken to its core.

This memoir tells the story of Martha’s early months and years. Karen shares her tears, her struggles and her joy as she slowly came to accept the many unexpected gifts Martha brought her.

Karen’s Christian faith, her family, and her very sense of identity were all shaken by the arrival of her baby with Down Syndrome. Martha needed life-saving heart surgery in her first year. Karen questioned everything she had previously taken for granted. The journey was not easy. But it was life-changing.

‘Before Martha, my life was carefully sealed up against the strange, the difficult, and the imperfect. I was like a dull pot or a closely shuttered window. Martha cracked me apart and let the light in. I will be forever grateful.’