Comments on: Dutch Treat?

By: Ashley Hart

Ashley Hart — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 16:39:50 +0000

I, too, have a total distaste for this poem. People love it and I’m envious that such a simplistic way of viewing such a cluster storm of emotions works for some. So glad to hear another momma with a big heart has a similar perspective. #canwebefriends

By: Celeste

Celeste — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 00:09:17 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with the Welcome to Holland article. You are right in that it is over simplistic, but that simplicity sort of works if you are trying to quickly answer someone and move on. But on the flip, it does nothing for the pregnant woman just handed a DS diagnosis. All I could think of when I read it was “I love Italy and never wanted to go to Holland.”

I read your book and loved it. My daughter is four months old. Everything you wrote is something that I have thought. Except for the anti-libertarian stuff

By: Nichole

Nichole — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 19:21:30 +0000

Thank you for writing this. I feel like so many parents just receiving a diagnosis would benefit from getting a bit of the “Real Deal” (as I call it)., along with their “Holland” essays. I spent so much time being ashamed that things like “Holland” did not speak to me, because that certainly meant I was a Bad Mom. The platitudes did zero for me. In fact, they did worse than zero because I saw through them and thought “Well, if only empty platitudes are out there, shit must be REAL. SERIOUS.” I needed to meet someone I could identify with, someone that didn’t have the proverbial mini van (nothing against mini vans, just not my jam) and that was harder to find. And when you find that piece, or that person, it’s as if a bit of that load is taken off of you. There is a place for “Holland,” but there is also a (big) place for pieces like yours. Thank you.