Andrea R. Frazer

Tourette's diagnosis is NOT a death sentence, for you or your child. However, it initially was for Andrea Frazier, who slowly learned lessons along her journey with her son who was diagnosed at four. With incredible, chortle-aloud humor and succinct takeaways at the end of each chapter, Andrea has written Happily Ticked Off as a resource and encouragement for other mothers who may be as overwhelmed as she originally was.

Andrea tackles the subject honestly, irreverently, letting the reader see her raw emotions. We see the death of her dreams for her son, Nicky, her repeated frustration with her husband who doesn't take the Tourette's so seriously. We also have a front row seat to her hopelessness as Nicky progresses in school and tic manifestation.

I loved this book. Andrea eventually reaches the end if her rope and has to decide who can best support her. She actually comes up with two answers, not what she was expecting, but what she had to accept to survive. She definitely found that humor was a great coping mechanism, which goes along with the idea I think she reiterates at nearly the end of every chapter., "take one day at a time." Don't take yourself so seriously.

Quotable quotes(there were oh,so many!):
1)"Be the hero, instead of the one being saved."
2)"Try and understand your spouse's viewpoint..."(if you disagree on how to handle the Tourette's)..."because a peaceful home has a stronger impact than a warring one."

I loved that Andrea actually came up with a behavior plan for the teacher that actually was easy for the teacher to implement, but put the onus on Andrea as the parent to provide rewards or discipline.

The only thing I didn't like was that this book used a lot of language for being billed as a Christian book. My rating because of that, PG and 4 stars.

I gratefully received this book from Bookfun.org in exchange for an honest review.… (lisätietoja)

This book was enlightening into the everyday life of a mom handling life with special needs child. I wish I had this kind of book growing up. There was a child at my school that had Tourette's Syndrome. I still to this day remember kids making fun of him and how much it hurt. I think this is one of the reasons that Pediatric Nursing has always touched my heart. Don't get me wrong this boy had a lot of friends including me that watched out for him. He had a mild case but back in the 70's there wasn't a lot of information out on this syndrome.
I love how the author focuses on helping and change. The information in this book is given honestly and with love. The humor that she is able to write in sharing her experience is a true inspiration. She let's mom's know that it is ok to feel what you are feeling and how to deal with it.
I recieved this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review.… (lisätietoja)

I absolutely loved this book. The author writes with humor and shares her experiences while giving great advice. I have a son with mild tics. This book has opened my eyes to so much information . It is a journey that is not easy, but the author does such a great job of explaining things that I felt at ease while reading the book.

The book is in short chapters with advice that is sure to help many who deal with this everyday. I loved her openness and transparency as she takes readers through great tips with encouragement . I was going to just read a little bit at a time, but the more I read, the more information I was able to absorb. It is a very well written book which will be a tool that you can refer to everyday. I loved that she helps us to focus on change, but to do it without fear . Each step is a step closer to helping someone you know with TS. I highly recommend anyone that deals with TS or knows someone who does , to pick up this book and read it .

I received a copy of this book from The BookClub Network for an honest review.… (lisätietoja)