The Prodigal Father: Daddy's Home - to Stay

Beth is faced with the decision of a lifetime when her estranged husband Scott suddenly returns and asks her to give their marriage a second chance.  She thinks he will change his mind once she tells him they have a daughter, and that their daughter has Down syndrome.  Instead, Scott convinces her to come to the resort he owns in northern Wisconsin and along with their daughter, Risa, take a chance on becoming a real family.  He does his best to adapt to his new role as father, learn about his daughter’s disability and show Beth that they all belong together.  Beth realizes she still loves Scott and wants to stay with him.  She is torn between her desire to create a family, the fear of failure and guilt over past mistakes.   

This book is available in regular and large print


I'm very proud of The Prodigal Father, published by Five Star Expressions. (Hint: this publisher markets to libraries.) As the mother of a child who has Down syndrome, I wanted to share a little of the experience of parenting a child with special needs. Several reviewers praised this aspect of The Prodigal Father. But more than that, I wanted this book be a sign of my appreciation for the Birth to Three Program.

The Birth to Three Program exists to help young children (from infants up to age 3) who show significant developmental delays. My own daughter was born 6 weeks early, two weeks before we were scheduled to move from Illinois to Wisconsin. So there we were, in a totally new town with three kids and a brand new baby that had some very scary health problems. It's not an understatement to say that we were lost.


Fortunately, the neonatal doctor refused to let us take my daughter home until we had a pediatrician lined up in our new town and until my daughter was enrolled in the Birth to Three program.


Theresa, our Birth to Three service coordinator was our lifeline. She went above and beyond the call of duty for my family - helping us get settled, giving us tips on where to shop, getting my daughter into speech, physical and occupational therapy, and even by going with me to our daughter's pediatric cardiologist (a two hour drive) when my husband couldn't. 

Next week is my daughter's 16th birthday. She has grown from a tiny baby struggling to survive into a happy, healthy teen. I can never thank Theresa enough for all she did on my daughter's behalf. The Prodigal Father is dedicated to her and to all the caring professionals who work in Birth to Three programs around the country.