Keston Ott-Dahl
Saving Delaney is the heartwarming true story of a baby who is diagnosed with Down Syndrome and the unconventional family who fought for her right to life. Andrea Ott-Dahl, who with her partner Keston Ott-Dahl has with two other children, agreed to act as a pregnancy surrogate for a wealthy Silicon Valley family. When pre-natal testing revealed the baby would be born with Down Syndrome, Andrea was urged to abort the child. Instead, the Ott-Dahls chose to keep and raise the daughter they would call Delaney, overcoming their fears while navigating legal, medical and emotional challenges. Studying all they could about care for their special needs daughter led them to become avid activists out of their experience. Despite heart surgery and an array of other challenges, Delaney at age 3 is alive, thriving, and an inspiration to every loving parent on the planet.
Kristen on Goodreads wrote:This was delivered yesterday and I read it in one sitting. It is a wonderful book and you quickly get to know the people in it, along with their thoughts and hopes. My husband and I adopted three special needs kids and I totally understand everything that goes through your head and your heart while preparing to bring home a child who is different. Our kids are the greatest blessing we can imagine and I can tell Delaney is that too. So glad she is in the family she was meant to be with. Thanks for sharing your amazing story.
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did.
I really enjoyed the beginning, the girl meets girl, the beginning of the surrogacy, the emotions, etc. But the book lost me when Peanut became Delaney. Not because I couldn't understand, I do. I, too, had a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome and felt similar emotions of uncertainty, fear, and wondering about acceptance from others.
The one thing that made me really cringe was even after they she became Delaney, the women were pro-Ds and learning everything they could about it, they kept calling, and describing her as, our disabled child. In a way I do get it, but they said they did so much research and after doing my own research, the disability took a back seat. I don't think of my son as my disabled child. And I truly hope they no longer think of Delaney that way. But that thought plagued the end of the book for me and I couldn't get past it.
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