Today’s the Day

January 17, 2012.

The day my book, No Easy Choice: A Story of Disability, Parenthood, and Faith in an Age of Advanced Reproduction, is officially released.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the ten-year journey that led from living through the decisions Daniel and I made about having children in light of my having a genetic bone disorder, to writing about that journey, to publishing it.

On Friday, I published an excerpt from the introduction.

Today, I’m going to post a few more of the amazing endorsements I’ve received and encourage you once again to buy the book, review it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or wherever you can, share it, attend one of my upcoming events, and let me know what you think.

And then I’m going to take a break from the self-promotion for a while in favor of some “R and R.” No, that’s not “rest and relaxation.” It’s “recommended reading.” I figure I’ve spent enough virtual ink promoting myself lately that it’s time to promote someone else. So for the rest of this week, I’ll post links to some good stuff I’ve been reading lately, with a few sentences of commentary or reflection. I ask you to make these writers’ days by clicking through, reading, and if you’re so inspired, writing a comment in response.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to learning what my faithful blog readers think of the book. In the meantime, here are a few of the reviews I have been honored to receive from experts. (If you are a writer/blogger interested in receiving a review copy, please contact me.)

“Ellen Painter Dollar is a consummate storyteller with a consuming story to tell. She is also a gifted journalist. In No Easy Choice, she has combined those skills to produce a gripping account of her family’s engagement with one of the pressing questions of our time: What and where is the Christian interface between humanity and the bio-engineering we can—and now do—exercise on ourselves, our children-in-the-making, our species? Chock full of informed and candid insights, this one is a page turner.”
—Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why

“There is so much to recommend in this book—gripping narrative about living with disability, up-to-date information on reproductive technologies, exemplary consideration of the spectrum of ethical issues amidst the complexities and ambiguities of real life, refreshing theological depth matching that of professional theologians but much more accessible, and pastoral sensitivity that will be relevant for ministers and laypeople alike, for starters—that it is definitely an easy choice to recommend No Easy Choice to Christians, all people of faith, and anyone else wrestling with parenting and living with disability in our technological age!”
—Amos Yong, Professor at Regent University and author of The Bible, Disability, and the Church

“Prepare yourself for a compelling, moving, and difficult journey. Ellen Painter Dollar has reflected deeply on the ethics of reproduction for someone with a disabling genetic disorder. Part biography, part ethics, and part science—the book takes you through the hardest and deepest questions surrounding genetics and disability. It will make you weep and smile, think and react, and deepen your relationship with God. Elegantly written, this is a book of sheer genius born out of a story of pain, complexity, and faithfulness. This is a book worth reading and re-reading.”
—Ian S. Markham, Dean, President, and Professor of Theology and Ethics, Virginia Theological Seminary

“I am not at all sure I agree with everything in this book on the challenges of conceiving and parenting well in our age of technology. But I don’t need to—because I am quite sure that reading it has made me better informed and more compassionate, and perhaps, please God, wiser. I am grateful for Ellen Painter Dollar’s skill and honesty as a writer, and moved by her story that is so clearly marked by truth and grace. I urge everyone who cares about Christian faithfulness in our time to read, ponder, and share this book.”
—Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling