Most of us expect to meander through the motions of love, marriage and (textbook) baby in the carriage, but once in a while life has something a little more special in store.

Special is an uplifting, candid companion for those in the early stages of navigating a child’s disability, offering honest, reassuring and relatable insight into a largely unknown (and so, initially terrifying) part of our world.

It features antidotes to the obsessions at the forefront of a newly minted special-needs parent’s mind: Why has this happened to me? Will I ever stop comparing my child to typical children? How will my relationship survive? Will I be able to work again? Should I have another baby? And the big one: What will my future look like?

Inspired by professional writer Melanie Dimmitt’s own crash-landing into special-needs parenthood, and shaped by her conversations with parents of children with wide-ranging disabilities, Special share real stories, expert guidance and simple coping strategies to soothe anyone whose life has taken an unexpected turn.