Events

Sun 11/11 2pm-3pm Editor Adrienne Bashista leads a panel discussion of her book Easy to Love but Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories   Easy to Love but Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories, edited by Kay Marner and Adrienne Ehlert Bashista, is an anthology of personal essays written by parents of children with ADD, ADHD, OCD, PDD, ASDs, SPD, FASD, PBD and/or other alphabet soup diagnoses that takes the already difficult job of parenting and adds to the challenge.   ADDitude magazine says: “"...This remarkable book will land emotional punches to your heart and soul. Coeditors Kay Marner, a writer and blogger for ADDitude and writer Adrienne Ehlert Bashista collected essays by parents of kids who are neurologically diverse. These moms [and dads] have cried in their pillows, screamed out in frustration, failed, and succeeded.”   The panel discussion on the book will include one of the editors, Adrienne Bashista, and three of the contributors: Barbara Claypole White, Maureen Sherbondy, and Kelly Quinones Miller, all parents of children with invisible special needs. They will discuss their honest feelings parenting children with behavioral disorders, the lessons they’ve learned, and the occasional epiphany along the way.       About the panel members: Adrienne Ehlert Bashista is the mother of 2 boys and the co-editor of and a contributor to Easy to Love but Hard to Raise: Real Parents, Challenging Kids, True Stories. Her younger son has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and it has been a long journey for their family to get an accurate diagnosis, services, and to figure out how to parent him best. The next book she’s working on is Easy to Love but Hard to Teach. British born Barbara Claypole White lives in rural Orange County with her family and a ridiculously large garden. Her debut novel is The Unfinished Garden, a love story about grief, OCD, and dirt. For the story behind her fascination with OCD, visit  www.barbaraclaypolewhite.com  Maureen Sherbondy’s books are After the Fairy Tale, Praying at Coffee Shops, The Slow Vanishing (Main Street Rag), Weary Blues (Big Table Publishing), and Scar Girl (Finishing Line Press). Her forthcoming book, The Year of Dead Fathers, will be published by Spring Garden Press. Maureen lives in Raleigh with her three sons. Kelly Quinones Miller is the mother of a son diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety. She works from home as a freelance writer, social media consultant, tech trainer, and graphic designer. Kelly was recently diagnosed with ADHD and is learning to manage her own inattentiveness while also helping her son gain the skills he needs to manage his.