Rounding Home

by

Sarah Swindell

  Genre: Memoir / Family / Autism

Date of Publication: August 2, 2019

Number of Pages: 256

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In 1991, twenty-one-year-old Sarah, the recently divorced mother to two-year-old Hayley, moved from the dusty small town of Farmington, New Mexico to the bustling city of Houston, Texas with dreams of a better life. A year later, she was swept off her feet by Greg Swindell, an established Major League Baseball player who had just signed a lucrative contract with the Houston Astros and was quickly becoming the talk of the city.

Six weeks after their first date, Greg asked Sarah to quit her job as a hairdresser and marry him during Spring Training in Florida. Over the next several years, Sarah’s Cinderella story continued with the addition of three more children, a lifestyle only a few ever dream of living, and a love story even fewer ever experience.

That is until 2002 when her picture-perfect life came to a gut-wrenching halt, and Sarah was faced with more pain than she ever thought possible. For almost a decade, the puzzle pieces would cease to align due to an avalanche of events; a devastating autism diagnosis, a painful affair, multiple marriages, multiple divorces and her children’s own personal struggles with self-harm, eating disorders, and attempted suicide.

If you have ever felt lost, betrayed, or heartbroken, this story will inspire you to never give up on finding true joy and happiness again. It will prove there is no such thing as the “perfect family” and that difficult times can actually make you stronger than you ever dreamed possible.

Praise

“Rounding Home takes you on a riveting journey through the eyes of an exceptional woman who embraced struggle, love, success, and the unimaginable, autism. Get ready to laugh, cry, and flutter with romance; it’s one hell of a love story!” — Gena Lee Nolin, actress, author, advocate, “Thyroid Sexy,” wife & mother

“In Rounding Home, Sarah writes with gritty honesty, a deeply moving account of life with her autistic son. This testament to the resilience of the human spirit will touch your heart and soul.” — Gayle Nobel, life coach, autism mom, and author of three books about living with autism

“This story of the Swindell family is a poignant demonstration of how each family member responded and was changed, for better or worse, as they struggled to come to terms with how their lives had been altered. And although there was damage along the way, they ultimately triumph by rekindling the love that created their family unit in the first place.” — Dr. Bryan Jepson, author, physician, and father of two sons with autism

This book delves into the life of one family that has been tested, beaten down, endured, and triumphed.

I wanted to read this book partially because of the title.  My sorority’s national philanthropy deals with Autism and I have a stepson that is on the spectrum, and I’m always wondering how those that have children with severe Autism (or stage 4 as the author puts it) handle the constant emotional battle they face and when the child cannot do anything for themselves and are not able to communicate their needs to others.  This book shares Sarah’s struggles and triumphs dealing with her son, her multiple marriages, her daughters, and her one true love.

The title is clever and Sarah reveals that she had this title chosen before she ever wrote the book.  Her story opens when she is at one of the lowest points in her life and then it flashes back to her childhood and moves forward from there.  Sarah had her own issues growing up and it is a pattern that repeated throughout the book – low self-esteem, wild abandonment, and sometimes destructive behavior.  When she meets Greg, her soulmate, life turns around for Sarah and we see another side that is we might frequently see in the press – the image of a spoiled athlete’s wife with the high dollar clothing, bad attitudes from player’s wives, and self-absorbed personalities.  But there is also love between Sarah and Greg and that bond is hard to break.  I think where it all turns around and the marriage starts to decline is after Dawson’s Autism diagnosis.  It isn’t surprising because caring for someone that is ill and trying to figure out what is wrong can take a toll on anyone or any relationship.

I found the chapters that dealt with Dawson’s disability the most intriguing.  I admired her dedication to finding out what was wrong with Dawson, what might have caused him to be autistic, and her pursuit of anything that would help him leave a semi-normal life.  My heart also hurt for several of her daughters and I admired how she included their struggles in the book and even asked them to write a few paragraphs for her to include.  I can’t imagine having to cope with their struggles on top of everything else and it is understandable how she arrived at the point she did at the beginning of the book.

This book is a raw look into Sarah’s life.  No one can say if everything she did was right or wrong because we don’t know what we would do if we were in her shoes.  Sarah coped the best way she knew how and looking back she realized what she did wrong which was mostly trying to find someone else to love instead of loving herself and making sure she was the best person she could be for herself and anyone else in her life.

This is the first book from this author and there were a few things that would have eliminated some questions I had while reading.  At one point she called Greg by the name Zeke.  I think we find out 80 or so pages later that this was her nickname for him but it was really confusing at that moment in time.  At another point, she mentions hosting an open house and having a listing, but there was no mention of obtaining a real estate license or working as a Realtor until near the end of the book.

Overall we give this book 4 paws up and commend the author for sharing her story with no filters.

Sarah Swindell lives in the Austin area with her husband, Greg, a former Major League Baseball player and 2019 Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Sarah is a commercial actress/model and has been working in the industry for over thirty years. She enjoys spending her free time with her four grown children and several grandchildren who reside in Texas as well.

Sarah is an avid moviegoer, loves yoga and true-crime podcasts, and advocates for children and adults with autism and other disabilities. Her son was diagnosed with severe autism at the age of eighteen months and continues to touch peoples’ hearts to this day.

Website  ⬧  Blog ⬧ Goodreads

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August 22-September 1, 2019

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