Book excerpt: Hi mama (or dad!). I've been where you are. The darkness, the unknowns, the fear, the uncertainty -- everything that accompanies a hearing loss diagnosis. You may feel all of these things at once. You may ebb and flow between them. Or you may not know what you feel at all. And that is okay. When you are told your child has significant hearing loss, there is no right reaction. Tears may flow, or they may refuse to come. Anger may boil over, or it may fester. Grief can pave the way, or it can be pushed aside. We all process serious, life-altering news differently. My own family received that news on October 18, 2019. In some ways, it feels like a lifetime ago. In others, the pain and emotions are still fresh. Time is funny that way. My goal in sharing my son Cooper's story -- our story, really -- is to show you that you are truly never alone. This journey to Holland (hang in there, I'll get to the relevancy of this) can feel like a lonely one at the beginning. But when you find acceptance, when you open your heart, there is so much beauty to be found along the way.