Won't You Help a Mother Out?

Her name is Dawn Meehan. She is (normally) a very funny woman, with a very popular, humorous blog. She recently published her second book, "You'll Lose the Baby Weight" (and Other Lies About Pregnancy and Childbirth).

If it's as good as her first book, then you can expect your face to hurt (from smiling and laughing) by the time you turn the last page.

Her blog has been lacking in the humor department lately, because she is going through some tough stuff. She recently got a divorce. Her husband has been...irresponsible and dishonest for quite some time now, so in her eyes, she's in a healthier place, emotionally, now that they are no longer married. Well, she would be in a healthier place emotionally if she didn't have her six children to worry about.

Yes, you read that correctly. She is now a single mother of six. The oldest is 16, the youngest is four. Three girls, three boys. Though her children seem to be doing somewhat okay with the divorce (it didn't escape them that their dad hasn't been a good dad for many years now), two of her sons are now struggling with depression. One of her sons "deals" with his depression by lashing out at her, breaking things, and slamming doors.

The other son has been hospitalized at a place that deals specifically with depressed and suicidal teens. Visiting hours are extremely limited, and he can't even see all five of his siblings at once. She can only bring them in one or two at a time, for one hour, a couple of times a week.

This is on top of her normal duties of feeding and clothing her kids, getting them to school and to their various activities, paying her mortgage and bills, all of which is challenging enough when you're a single mother of six. An unemployed single mother of six (she doesn't earn any money through blogging).

And today she learned that her ex was fired from his job, and when she inquired about unemployment, he told her that it was "none of her business." She has no income, no child support, and her kids no longer have insurance coverage, so she has no way of paying the medical bills (or paying for any of her other expenses, for that matter).

I honestly don't know how she keeps her head up every day. It takes an incredible amount of strength just to get up in the morning, and even more strength and vulnerability to share her struggles on her blog. She asks only for prayers. She says that helps more than anything else.

I'm going to take it one step further and ask that you not only pray for her and her family, but also consider buying her book. If you have $10.79 to spare, follow this link here to purchase it from Amazon.

You can follow this link here to read her blog. Thankfully, you won't have to dig very far into her archives before the laughter starts. Somehow, she still manages to find plenty of humor in her life, and few things make her happier than to be able to share it with the world.