My Book
The Course You Choose
A Mother’s Triumphant Journey of Faith Through Autism, Divorce, and Homeschooling Her Remarkable Son
“If I ever have kids, I don’t know if I’ll be able to give them what you gave me. My education was so good.”
Two monumental life tasks I’ve been equipped to complete were the raising and educating of my son as a single mother and the telling of our story in a book intended for anyone who has loved a child. My son was diagnosed with autism at age six, and God provided a way for us to continue to homeschool, despite my single-parent status. The difficulties couldn’t overshadow the joys. I was so grateful to be able to invest needed time in my young son's life.
When thirteen years of homeschooling came to a close, I was thrilled to see my son go on to great success in college, but I quietly grieved the finality of that end. What future work could possibly prove as meaningful? The answer came as I began to process our journey in writing. My experience in autism, intentional parenting, and home education had value. I resolved to record and share all I had learned. My hope is that this book encourages you in your journey as so many others have encouraged mine.
Placed in the Top 100 Best Sellers in Amazon’s Parenting Children with Disabilities category!
Puzzling behaviors began to surface the very first day Henry entered preschool. Being the only child who adamantly refused to pass through the classroom door signaled trouble ahead. The four-year-old’s persistent disinterest in other children soon led his teachers to label him "a loner," and even “a disturbance” when he began spinning disruptively in the middle of class. His mother’s decisive educational course-change ensued, and a successful kindergarten homeschooling year followed. But first grade brought a devastating event that would lead to a diagnosis of high-functioning autism.
As a certified teacher, Henry’s mother drew on her training, faith, and love for her son to navigate a path for his education. When her marriage unexpectedly dissolved at the time of Henry’s diagnosis, every comfortable and familiar aspect of life was stripped away. Suddenly a single homeschooling mother, she found that her circumstances necessitated a desperate reliance on God's guidance to accomplish her son's success—not only in his education, but in life.
The Course You Choose is the true story that invites readers to glimpse the benefits of a customized home education and God’s willingness to assume the responsibility for legitimate needs when we choose His highest course.
“Ann J. Fowler has crafted an amazing chronicle, truly amazing! You will weep. You will cheer. You will hold your breath with anticipation. You will not be able to put this book down. You will be utterly astonished at the devotion of this mother to her autistic son. And she does all this oblivious to any credit she so richly deserves for her Herculean efforts on behalf of her dear son. This book will serve not only as an inspiration and encouragement to parents raising children with special challenges, it provides a comprehensive how-to, a tell-all for planning the highest, most nurturing course for your own children. Additionally, parents of “normal” children desperately need to read this book, thereby gaining deeper gratitude, creating empathy, understanding, love, and support within the variety of family experiences that make up the body of Christ.”
—Douglas Bond, author of The Hobgoblins and more than thirty-five other books