Love Him Anyway: Finding Hope in the Hardest Places (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781620205723)

"Love Him Anyway is an incredible story of love, hope, loss, the strength of a family, and more importantly a Mamma on a mission."

-Victoria Arlen, ESPN On Air Personality, Paralympic Gold Medalist, and Transverse Myelitis Survivor

One night can change everything.

Abby Banks put her healthy, happy infant son to sleep, but when she awoke the next morning, she felt as though she was living a nightmare. Her son, Wyatt, was paralyzed. There was no fall, no accident, no warning. A rare autoimmune disease had attacked his spinal cord, and there was no cure.

In an instant, all her hopes and dreams for him were wiped away. The life she envisioned for her family was gone, and she was frozen by the fear of a future she never imagined.

As Abby struggled to come to grips with her son's devastating diagnosis and difficult rehabilitation, she found true hope in making a simple choice, a choice to love anyway-to love her son, the life she didn't plan, and the God of hope, who is faithful even when the healing doesn't come.

In Love Him Anyway, Abby shares her family's journey from heartbreak to triumph and reminds us that hope and joy can be found in life's hardest places.

Continued Endorsements:

Love Him Anyway is a powerful story with a message of beauty and courage that everyone needs to hear! Abby writes about a very raw and difficult experience in a way that is vulnerable, humbled, and uplifting. It is a gift to be able to peer into the transformative hope of this family's journey, and God's grace and goodness shine through even the most heartbreaking times.

-Courtney Westlake, Author of A Different Beautiful

I highly recommend Love Him Anyway to anyone who is dealing with any sort of obstacle in life. Wyatt has had to deal with adversity at a very young age but chooses to be happy and live life to the fullest. His story is a triumph of the human spirit and a reminder that life is worth celebrating even in the hard moments.

-Eric LeGrand, Former Rutgers University Football Player and Spinal Cord Injury Activist

Rejoice in the Lord always. Easy to do when your Christian life is going well. But it is an entirely different undertaking when you wake up one morning and life as you knew it the night before no longer exists. Such is the case in this poignant, thoughtfully written story of a tenacious little boy's strength and courage, the love of his mother, and the beautiful tapestry woven in community during trying times. Heartbreaking yet full of hope and resiliency, Love Him Anyway reminds us all that no suffering is wasted and God uses our most difficult times for His greatest glory.

-Heather Gray Blalock, Author of Faith, Hope, Love & Deployment

Love Him Anyway presents a story of love and triumph through the eyes of a mother who has lived an experience that no one can imagine, until it happens to them . . . While terrifying and grim at first glance, Abby Banks is able to tell a story of truth, hope, opportunities, and possibilities of what their family has experienced in this journey and what they look forward to in years to come. With faith and strength and acknowledgment of God as their Higher Power, Abby has created a how-to story of Wyatt's story. It is without reservation that OPAF recommends Love Him Anyway and with pride that the Banks crew has become part of our family.

-Robin Burton, Executive Director Orthotic and Prosthetic Activities Foundation