This is an inspiring book. The book writes so well in a relaxed style.
This is funny in places and very informative.
It is worth reading the first book first.

Wonderfully written biography by Sarah Roberts, which details her adventures with Oscar from ages four to nine. This is Sarah's second book about her son, who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. This book follows her first book and highlights the highs and lows of having a child with special needs. She highlights not only the struggles of navigating school, friendships and medical appointments, but also the laughter and happiness the journey brings. This novel was well-written and honest. She is a wonderful advocate for her son. I highly recommend this book.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy. This was a sweet and often at times heartbreaking story about oscar who has DS. The mom talks about the highs and challenges as Oscar grows. I enjoyed the book a lot and definitely will be recommending to friends.

I don't read much non fiction but stories like this remind me that I do enjoy a good biography. Sarah tells the story with warmth, joy, honesty. As a person myself with a disability I know the struggles of being considered "different". I love how Sarah tells it how is and doesn't sugar coat anything. I was really surprised by the medical professionals and there bedside manner. I don't know if they just didn't understand enough about DS or if they were ignorant. This is a book of joy, struggle,tears ,frustration, heartache, triumph and laughs. I felt all those emotions while reading.

Sarah’s first book, For the Love of Oscar, tells the story of her first child Oscar’s birth, his postnatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome and his adventures up to the age of four. Don’t Be Sorry continues Oscar’s story, from age four to nine.
Honest and heartfelt this story moved me.

As the godmother of a beautiful girl who has Down Syndrome, as soon as I saw who I now know to be Oscar on the front cover, I knew I wanted to read this book.
Oscars mum Sarah, reminds me a bit of me in regards to us both having the same sense of humour, and trying to see the positives in things!
Thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Oscar through this book, and reading about their journey - all the highs and the lows. And it was refreshing to see that Sarah did not hold back so it really was a true representation of what they as a family go through.
My little boy is going through ASD assessments, and i could relate to a lot of what was being said in the book.... And has given me hope that maybe one day, we won't be chasing our little boy everywhere he goes too 😂
Great book :)

This is not the type of book I would normally choose to read but I’m so glad I did. I haven’t read Sarah’s previous book, and it was not necessary to have done so, but as a SENDCo in a mainstream secondary school with a pupil with DS, I was keen to hear things from a parent’s perspective.

Sarah doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges of parenting a child with additional needs, or the impact it has upon them as a family. Nor does she shy away from admitting that this is not a path they embarked upon willingly (Oscar’s diagnosis came after his birth). However, she describes life with Oscar and their two younger children with warmth, humour and a big dose of reality. The way she describes the relationship Oscar has with his siblings and classmates is heart warming and refreshing.

Sarah discusses many of the controversial issues around DS, such as mainstream v SEN schooling and including the often held assumption that anyone carrying a baby with DS will choose to terminate the pregnancy. She explores the language used to refer to diagnoses and ongoing life with DS and challenges us to consider how we frame conversations and the impact this has upon our reactions and responses.

Anyone who has contact with a child with DS should read this book, particularly parents who may have been given the unexpected news that their baby may have the condition. It will fill your heart with joy, as Oscar clearly does for all those who know him.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for enabling me to read an ARC of this book.

Don't Be Sorry by Sarah Roberts was an inspiring and encouraging read.
In the interest of full disclosure I have been aware of the author and her son Oscar through her blog. I also have a son who was born with an extra chromosome and the joys and challenges of raising a child with Down Syndrome so the book was very relatable to me. I also enjoyed the fact that each chapter ended with notes and comments from other parents that had been sent into her blog.
One of the things that hit with me was Sarah's comment about grieving the loss of a child that only existed in our heads and I remember the grief that went with the original diagnosis for us and how as a parent you want to "fix" it for your child to make it better. I remember holding my son Ian one day wishing there was a way to heal him--and something hit me and I realized that I was actually wishing for a different child and not appreciating Ian for who he was. With that realization everything changed. I love Ian as Ian period.
I think this book also does really well in that it describes parenting and child rearing in general with an added element. It is well written and easy to read and goes by quickly.
Thanks to #NetGalley, #AdLibPublishing, and Sarah Roberts for the ARC of #Don't BeSorry.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
The cover of this book grabbed my attention as Oscar is such an adorable little boy. I always have a soft spot for kids who have DS.
I haven't read the 1st book but I don't think it's necessary to grasp the challenges the author, her family, school, and community face while raising Oscar. She is very fortunate to be able to focus on her kids and not have to go to a job site every day.
I'm looking forward to reading Oscar's continued story.

I loved this book! Sarah has such an easy, relaxed style of writing and instantly I felt like we were mates sitting in a cafe while she told me about life with Oscar. Most of my kids (3/4) are adults now and when I was pregnant with them I honestly thought I’d consider a termination for something as simple as Down Syndrome. I’m ashamed of that now but it is mostly due to lack of education and lack of exposure ( God that word is horrible when talking about human beings, sorry) to anyone with disabilities. In the 70’s and 80’s if people with DS lived at home they certainly didn’t attend the local primary school.
I’m so glad that I was never tested on that intention because I’m sure I’d have justified it to myself with the help of medical staff. What I’m more glad about is that women getting pregnant now can have role models like Sarah, on blogs, IG, FB etc to give them a proper honest look into the world of parenting a child with a disability. My youngest daughter was lucky enough to attend the local primary with her friends little brother who has DS and I can’t see her ever assuming that she would have a termination because she isn’t scared of DS and that’s what I was. Scared and ill informed.
Sarah doesn’t evangelise, she doesn’t sugar coat what her life is like. She tells the truth including the potty learning woes, the absconding toddler dramas and the tough decisions regarding education placements but she grounds all of it by reminding us that Oscar is her son, he’s a regular boy that just so happens to be rockin an extra chromosome and that like all kids the love you have for them outshines any of the bad stuff.
Thank you Sarah for allowing me to share a peek into your life and helping me become a more informed person.

I liked this follow up to Sarah Roberts first book. Showing a slice of life of living in their family. The one down side for me is that in the E - Arc the jumping around in time was harder to follow.