An Uncomplicated Life by Paul Daugherty

* Picture from Amazon *

Format read: Paperback

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 6 out of 10

Plot: This book was a Goodreads Giveaway.  Shortly after the birth of his daughter Jillian, Paul and his wife learned that she had Down Syndrome.  After the initial sadness, the couple decided to do everything in their power to give her as normal a life as possible.  They fought for her to be educated in mainstream class and to be treated as a normal child.  This memoir is the story of a family that gave their all to show the world that their daughter is just like everyone else, just with an extra chromosome.

Opinion: I thought the story was inspiring.  It’s great to see the opportunities that Jillian has been given that so many children in her position were not given, and hopefully the efforts that her parents made will provide children in the future with the same opportunities.  One problem I had with the book is that the author kept repeating the same phrases over and over.   For example, it seemed like every other page the author used the phrase “build a better Jillian”.  I found myself getting frustrated at the repetitive language, but other than that, it was a great book.

Next book: Islamic Awakening: Between Rejection and Extremism by Yusuf al Qaradawi