As fall approaches, I hope everyone is happy and healthy and returning to some form of normalcy. This month I would like to share a review of a book that I read recently.
Yucky Stuff: I’m Glad I Was Chosen By God Even if It Means Doing Yucky Stuff by Martha Jane is a poignant story about a mother’s love for her daughter, God’s love for both of them, and finding hope in the middle of hopelessness.
Martha Jane gives readers a little glimpse into the joys, heartbreak and exhaustion of raising a child with Cystic Fibrosis. As happens so often when a couple has a child with a debilitating disease, her marriage suffered, although there were also other issues at play. Martha and her husband constantly faced the pressure of balancing the responsibilities of employment with those of time-consuming medical treatments, frequent doctors’ appointments, and hospitalizations. They found themselves caught in the trap of needing their jobs to provide for their family as well as for insurance coverage to pay for expensive medications, treatments, and hospitalizations but needing time off for their daughter’s care.
A fierce advocate for her daughter, Honor, Martha tirelessly fought insurance companies to acquire the care needed. She readily gives God the glory for intervening on more than one occasion.
Caring for a loved one with a serious condition is lonely. While Martha had some wonderful friends by her side, there were many times—especially when Honor was most ill—that friends couldn’t be with them, but she found solace in God. Martha allows us to watch her spiritual journey throughout the book.
There are many touching moments. Martha shares the beautiful moments as well as the ugly. The beauty of Honor shines throughout the book.
I hope that a producer turns the book into a movie. If people have never had a chronically ill family member, they do not understand the strength required to care for someone daily. Since the advent of social media, we as a society prefer to inundate ourselves with fake beautiful posts. But real life isn’t always beautiful. Sometimes it’s yucky.
I strongly recommend this book. The book is available on Amazon, click here.
The Lion Within is still available on Amazon, click here.