A few weeks after Claire was born a birth story starting showing up on the internet. It was the beautiful story of a birth, followed by the unexpected news that the baby had Down syndrome. We were nearly certain Claire had Down syndrome so the news wasn't a shock to us like it was for the Hampton's, but the raw emotion in the post resonated with me, and I couldn't help but cry when I read it. Even now, nearly three years later, my eyes prick with tears when I reread the post.
I received a promo for Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected and I knew I'd simply have to read it. It sounded fabulous. Bloom is an inspiring and heartfelt memoir that celebrates the beauty found in the unexpected, the strength of a mother’s love, and, ultimately, the amazing power of perspective. From the outside looking in, Kelle Hampton had the perfect life: a beautiful two-year-old daughter, a loving husband, a thriving photography career, and great friends.
This birth story was my introduction to Kelle Hampton and her blog, Enjoying the Small Things. Kelle had been blogging long before Nella's arrival, but that birth story introduced her blog to a whole new set of fans. Because our girls were nearly the same age, and because Kelle seemed to be *the* Down syndrome blogger to keep up with, I started following along.
After reading her blog for a while I discovered Kelle and I are so very different. Her world is (seemingly) filled with perfectly dressed kids, extravagant parties, beautifully staged photos and I often left her blog feeling a bit defeated. She seemed to have it all together, and I was lucky to have time to do the dishes and take a shower.
Because I felt so far removed from her way of life I didn't read her memoir, Bloom, for quite a while. (I actually had to check it out from the library three times. It kept expiring because I never made time to read it, even though it is a fast read.) If you've read Kelle's blog, expect more of the same from her book. If you are new to her...there are stories about her amazing group of friends and all their crazy times together, beer handed out liberally, and lots of dudes, bad asses and hot messes.
My main criticism of the book is that it's not particularly well written. There are quite a few times I had to remind myself that this was a grown women, a mother, telling her story and not a high school student. Parts of the book were incredibly juvenile, as if Kelle was mainly concerned about still being the cool kid, even though she now has this not quite perfect daughter. I wanted the raw emotion that came through in Nella's birth story, and I just didn't have the same connection to Bloom.
Where Bloom shines is with the photographs. Kelle is incredibly talented, her girls are beautiful and that helps Bloom appeal to people without children with disabilities. People can easily glance through the photos and see that Kelle's life, and ours too, really isn't that different from anyone else's.
Recommended? Yes and no. There are many, many people in the Down syndrome community who have read and fallen in love with this book. Many seem to connect with the emotion in it, but I wasn't one of them. I would read a sentence here and there are think YES!! I remember feeling that way. But I wanted those moments of connection throughout the entire book, and I just didn't have that.
I think Kelle has managed to take away some of the fear surrounding Down syndrome with her photography, book and blog, and I appreciate that. Read this book for the photos. As with any memoir, remember that this is Kelle's experience, not mine.
Review of Kelle Hampton’s memoir, “Bloom” by Meriah Nichols, deaf mother of a child with Down syndrome. There is us. Our Family. We will hold our precious gift and know that we are lucky From the outside looking in, Kelle Hampton had the. BLOOM. Finding Beauty in the Unexpected–a Memoir. by Kelle Hampton Photographer writer Hampton is the author of a popular blog.
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You grieve not because of the child that isn’t, but because it is difficult for any parent to look at their awesome child and see them struggle. If you appreciate memoirs, stories of family, books that detail adversity and rising above.
And I would bet booom she’s not the only one who was heartbroken upon hearing that her child is not exactly what she envisioned.
Questions?
And it’s kind of like those animals that regrow a part of their body–like a starfish. God or at least the God of the Bible. And that is the kells of Bloom: Hampton is a blogger, writer, photographer — all talents immediately evident at her blog, Enjoying the Small Things.
Return to Book Page. Now understand, she is no writer, and you know it within sentences. It took a long time to get here and I’ve found my niche. That is understandable, but I wanted more from this hampon. Bloom is yet another in a string of blog books presented by publishers to capitalize yampton social media and its magical effect on stay at home moms.
The book helped fill in a lot of gaps that the blog didn’t cover – like Kelle’s childhood, her experiences as a teacher, and how she met her husband.
And because of the blog post about the birth of her daughter that launched all of this, you expect her to own the hard stuff, but what is unexpected, and what makes this book and her so awesome, is that she owns kellr good stuff. I found the book genuinely compelling, told with love, with beautiful photos, taken with love.
The transformation gave me the warm fuzzies. That was mind boggling to me and it is where she forced me to look at myself. I felt like I was watching a young something woman who is still learning who she is and hamptoon thrown something unexpected and decides to quote her “rock it out.
I hated it less by the end, but hated it nevertheless. Still, because it is a memoir, it is hard to judge someone on their own personal story. View all 7 yampton. A person relatively ignorant of genetics may enjoy this book. We’re Jewish – not happening. There is nothing to dislike about her writing style.
The writing and the emotions conveyed in these books tower above Bloom. Does it look good to you? I kept feeling thankful for her that her daughter doesn’t have autism.
Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected–A Memoir by Kelle Hampton
Videos About This Book. I feel as though, despite her age, the author lacked life experience and insights. So apparently a lot of people know of her and those that do seem to either love or hate her.
Brett And Kelle Hampton
If I think of this book again, it will be with well wishes for the darling girl who has transformed her family from one of perfection to one that can embrace the beauty of imperfection. And though I don’t know what it’s like for a minute to walk the path of a parent with a child that has special needs, so it’s hard to pass judgement on her. While I applaud the author for being so honest in telling about her shock, grief, etc. I felt nothing here. Published April 2nd by William Morrow Paperbacks first published But then she continues: I realize that people have all different reactions to a birth diagnosis.
Kelle Hampton Instagram
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