"He was born blue; he was barely alive. All the air had been sucked from the room."

Kelly Speck had planned for her newborn son, Bennett, to be placed on her bare chest for his first attempt at breastfeeding. Instead, he was whisked away to the NICU. It was, as Speck writes, "the kickoff of a nightmare journey."

The doctors said the end was near for Bennett. Was there any hope?

Hope in the Heartache, Kelly Speck's true-to-life and immaculately detailed memoir, tells of Bennett's fight to survive and his family's journey through grief and exhaustion in hospitals, churches, and insurance offices. The Specks never lost faith, and in their devotion to God and family, they learned what matters most: hope.

Hope in the Heartache: The Journey of Grace and Growth with a Special Needs Child is at once a devastating and uplifting story. It's for anyone who has faced trauma, for anyone supporting a loved one in crisis, and for anyone who needs to know how it might feel to confront -- and overcome -- true heartache.

Author: Kelly Speck
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Ballast Books
Published: 05/31/2022
Pages: 300
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781955026116

About the Author
Kelly Speck once thought she would spend her life as a working mom and wife, hustling in Corporate America while volunteering for the PTA. Life's numerous curveballs, however, have prompted an evolution; she now considers herself a recovering type-A planner.

For more than twenty years now, she has performed accounting in an array of industries while maintaining a strong marriage to her college sweetheart, Travis. Kelly and Travis have three children who have, along with her deep faith, humbled her profoundly.

When her high school friends voted her "Most Likely to Drive a Minivan," she scoffed and declared that would never happen. Ironically, the Specks currently own not one but two minivans.

Kelly's favorite of the two has a ramp for her oldest son, Bennett, a quadriplegic, and she considers it the world's greatest honor to serve as chauffeur for him and his two younger siblings. As she faces work's daily challenges while remaining a proud wife, mom, and caregiver for Bennett, Kelly's mantra is: life is not always easy, but it is always beautiful.
She lives in Kensington, MD.