Unexpected Joy: My Journey with Charlie

by Charles Schoen, Marcus Mulenga (Narrator), Cynthia Heinrichs

Unexpected Joy is a book about an inspirational young man who makes friends everywhere he goes. He is not like everyone else. He has special needs. He has taken his father and others on a journey they did not choose. His father learned to embrace the journey over many years. This is a story of struggle, depression, deliverance, redemption, acceptance, and eventually joy wrapped in an adventure of a lifetime of challenges.

Listeners will love learning about Charlie and all he has been for so many of his family and friends. This book is also a map for parents with children with special needs. It is not the only map you will need but it is one you can use to help you find your way.

Audible Audio

Published October 21, 2024

Reviews

[Lou Florio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book introduces Charlie, a young man who was born with serious disabilities. He is nonverbal, and yet makes friends wherever he goes. Charlie is special in the most positive sense. The author, his dad, explains his adventures with Charlie. This isn’t just a story of fun outings, the adventure includes a movement through grief and struggle toward acceptance and joy. As Charlie’s father grew in understanding and acceptance, life became more beautiful. Just as God used disabilities in the Bible to bring more love into the world, the author sees that same life-giving process at work in and through Charlie’s life. The author doesn’t diminish or avoid the difficulties faced, he just sees that more is going on - something sacred. This book will prove an encouraging, hopeful map for parents of children with special needs. Having has an intellectually disabled aunt and working with others having physical and intellectual disabilities on and off since high school including volunteering with large nonprofits addressing related issues and helping them on their way, I found this book speaks truth. I also discovered my own joy in meeting Charlie for the first time. (For full transparency, I need to say that I know the author from college, and I received the book for free. I have never met Charlie except through this book.)