“A Hero’s Journey in Parenting: Parenting the Child You Didn’t Expect While You Were Expecting” is the compilation of tools, strategies and questions for parents who find themselves having crossed a threshold into the unexpected journey of parenting being nothing like they expected. This could be in the form of special needs, learning differences, executive functioning challenges, neurodiversities or simply parenting a child who marches to the beat of their own drum.
I know this because it is what I experienced.
I am not only a mother to a 20 year old autistic son, I was an elementary school educator and am a certified Master Life Coach. This book is solely based on what I have personally used to shift from feeling lost and like a victim of circumstances, at the mercy of experts, to a parent who feels very much empowered to make decisions that are best for me, my son and our family.
While there are many resources out there aimed at what to do to support the child, there is little to support the common feelings, thoughts and challenges that parents face. That is the intention behind this book - to provide tools, questions and strategies to help parents in the real, everyday experiences of parenting so that they can feel empowered, calm, intentional and content.
I began teaching the content in this book back in 2010, have shared it with hundreds of parents and is thrilled to have all that I have learned and utilized compiled into a book that will hopefully reach and guide those who need it.
- Parents on “A Hero’s Journey in Parenting” often feel like they are being judged by everyone because of their child.
- They want to know what to do but feel tremendous uncertainty and at the mercy of specialists when it comes to making decisions for their child/family.
- They worry about what the future holds.
- They try to control their situation which leaves them exhausted.
- They experience a great deal of guilt, sadness and anger at how they feel about their situation.
I know this because it is what I experienced.
I am not only a mother to a 20 year old autistic son, I was an elementary school educator and am a certified Master Life Coach. This book is solely based on what I have personally used to shift from feeling lost and like a victim of circumstances, at the mercy of experts, to a parent who feels very much empowered to make decisions that are best for me, my son and our family.
While there are many resources out there aimed at what to do to support the child, there is little to support the common feelings, thoughts and challenges that parents face. That is the intention behind this book - to provide tools, questions and strategies to help parents in the real, everyday experiences of parenting so that they can feel empowered, calm, intentional and content.
I began teaching the content in this book back in 2010, have shared it with hundreds of parents and is thrilled to have all that I have learned and utilized compiled into a book that will hopefully reach and guide those who need it.
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Reviews:
I’m so grateful Margaret Webb is gifting parents of differently wired kids with this life-changing resource! Through sharing her lived experience, accessible tools, unique framework, and powerful yet gentle essence in Hero’s Journey in Parenting, Margaret is offering a paradigm-shifting toolbox that will help so many families. A must-have for any parent or caregiver committed to honoring and respecting their child’s journey while authentically tending to their own well-being. Debbie Reber, founder Tilt Parenting, author of Differently Wired
This is a book I will return to time and time again. If you are the parent of a neurodivergent child, you know what it's like to hear advice constantly from people who...just don't get it. Often these people are well-meaning and maybe they really do care about your family, but there's just something off about the things they tell you. Margaret is different because she's really lived this life. She understands how it feels to be handed a diagnosis for your child and the deep inner work you are doing to try and be the the best parent you can be. The advice in this book is soul-affirming, life-changing, and so incredibly respectful of parents. She doesn't pat you on the head or assume you don't know what's best for your child. What she does do is support you in learning to trust yourself, take care of yourself, and find joy and meaning in this journey. Her "tools" are profound but simple concepts and practices that you can begin using immediately. I know I will use these techniques with my child on a daily basis and we will both be better for it. This book really is something special. Highly recommend! William Sanders
I'm the mom of an autistic 9 year old son, and this is the book I've been waiting for: a book that's not about pathologizing or giving me tips to get into warrior mode and fix/normalize my child, but rather a book that reframes my experience as an archetypal Hero on a journey of transformation. This book doesn't shy away from the big, difficult emotions one feels as the parent of a child with a diagnosis. Rather, Margaret encourages us to really feel the big feelings in a healthy way, rather than shove everything down and focus on fix-fix-fix as our culture encourages us to do. By getting back into our own bodies, feeling what we feel, and learning to live intentionally, we are in a far better position to truly help our children lead good lives. Margaret offers a wide array of profoundly helpful tools for dealing with the day to day of parenting a neurodivergent child, based on her personal experience in the trenches as the mom of a now 20 year old autistic son. She doesn't just talk the talk as a neurotypical therapist on the outside; she walks the walk, as a mother, educator, and someone who understands what it's like to inhabit an anxious nervous system. Most importantly, we are invited to create a new narrative for our families, finding ways to approach the journey from a mindset of curiosity and play, rather than fear, shame, and victimhood. If your parenting journey is feeling like a trip to Dante's Inferno, Margaret is your Virgil/Beatrice who's going to lead you out of the depths into the place where you can recognize the gifts of your experience. Stacy Charlton
Parenting is often as exhausting as it is rewarding. And, most parents are gob- smacked early in the process with how different their children are from what they expected. Margaret Webb uses a decade of successful parent coaching, blended with her experience as the mother of a 20 year old autistic son, to provide clear, meaningful, and easy to implement tools to help parents be the best they can be to meet their children where they are. Highly recommend!!! Jill Farmer
Margaret has done something pretty special; she's taken what she's learned from her teachers, mentors, her son, and her journey and has made them uniquely her own. The parents who read this are stepping into a wealth of support that stretches back in time to the ideal and the archetypal. Michael Trotta
“I can tell you first hand how deep Margaret went to find these tools. From my standpoint, it was an intense journey, requiring both great strength and vulnerability. There were times where I wasn’t really sure where she was going or what she was going to do, but she made it back and the tools she discovered along the way are her gift to you. She would be the first to tell you that she did not invent all of these tools - they are timeless concepts re-forged by her particular experience in parenting. I think they could help anybody, but I know they can hep parents who are struggling. Having been there, I am excited for you to have her as your guide on your own Hero’s Journey in Parenting.” K. Michael Webb, MD (Margaret’s husband and parenting partner on this journey; board certified and practicing neurosurgeon and a founding partner of NeuroTexas)