Vickie Rubin joins Let’s Talk Memoir for a conversation about raising a child with medical complexities and intellectual disabilities, submicroscopic chromosomal deletions, incorporating clippings, news articles, and photographs in memoir, when you feel something is wrong with your child, her career in the helping field, overcoming marriage struggles while raising children with disabilities, advocating for other families and for herself, the gift of a late diagnosis, the decision to move her daughter to a group home, and her memoir Raising Jess: A Story of Hope.

Also in this episode:

-when pediatricians don’t listen

-journal entries as resources

-raising children of siblings with disabilities

Books mentioned in this episode:

Left on Tenth Delia Ephron

The Shape of Normal by Catherine Shields

The Color of Love by Marra Gad

Vickie Schlanger Rubin, M.S Ed. is a three-time award-winning author of the inspiring memoir, Raising Jess: A Story of Hope. She is an experienced public speaker and passionate advocate for families of children with disabilities. Vickie's essays are published in Newsweek (My Turn), Buffalo News Opinion (My View), and guest blogs worldwide. She is a frequent Podcast guest sharing information about raising a child with a disability, inspiring hope, family dynamics, education, and advocacy. Her blog, Vickie's Views (www.vickierubin.com), gives a heartwarming and humorous view of everyday life.

Before writing her book, Vickie was the director of the Early Childhood Direction Center (ECDC) for Oishei Children's Hospital, Kaleida Health, a New York State Education Department grant-funded program. During her career, Vickie was a frequent guest speaker at local colleges and universities and was an adjunct teacher in the Exceptional Education Department at Buffalo State College.

Vickie holds a master's degree in Exceptional Education from SUNY Buffalo State College and resides in Western New York. She and her husband Mitch celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary, and they have three children, three grandchildren, and two very active dogs. 

Connect with Vickie:

Vickie’s Views- https://vickierubin.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RaisingJessStory

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/raisingjessstory.vickierubin/

X ( Twitter)- https://twitter.com/vickierubin

LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickie-rubin-aa1a09177/

Threads- https://www.threads.net/@vickierubin.author

Get Raising Jess: https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Jess-Story-Vickie-Rubin/dp/1662407416

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/raising-jess-vickie-rubin/1139804006

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Raising-Jess-A-Story-of-Hope-Paperback-9781662407413/443928331

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Ronit’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts’ 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories. She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and lives in Seattle with her family where she teaches memoir workshops and is working on her next book.

More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com

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Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography

Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll’s Fingers