Emma's Laugh

“The author effectively shows how she learned lessons from raising Emmathat allowed her to draw on a wellspring of love for other members ofher family… . An engaging work about how the tenacity of a younggirl changes her parents’ lives.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS“Rarely in life, in marriage, or in motherhood does a person have tomake the choices made in the life of this author. And as she makes them,we go with her, deep into our own selves, traveling on her details to ajourney to our own consciences, hearts, and minds. This is a powerfultale of family and of the kind of hard-fought courage that we alwayshope exists in this world. Beautifully written and wonderfully told,this is the book for right now.” —MARION ROACH SMITH, author of The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life“Emma’s Laugh traces the author’s moving, exhilarating, anddevastating journey as a parent. Told with humor, humility, and grace,it is filled with deep sentiment but never falls into sentimentality.This moving family story had me at the edge of my seat, clutching a boxof tissues, never wanting it to end.” —MARIA KUZNETSOVA, author of Oksana Behave!“Emma’s Laugh is an honest and beautiful look at parental love.From her early rejection of her special-needs child to her gradualfalling in love with her daughter, Kupershmit shows us how much a motheris willing to give of herself for the sake of her child. I read with myheart in my throat all the way to the end.”—MONICA WESOLOWSKA, author of Holding Silvan: A Brief Life“Emma’s Laugh made me laugh, and cry, and smile, and cry again.Kupershmit delivers literary love with a capital L. This is whatmotherhood is. This is what love is. Just as Kupershmit climbs into acrib to ‘mold herself’ around her daughter when she suffers headachesand pain, I felt myself molding to this story, ever involved, rootingfor mother and daughter and this family all the way.”—ELIZABETH COHEN, author of The House on Beartown Road: A Memoir of Learning and Forgetting“How important it is that Kupershmit has given us this gem of a book. Itis a story of heartache and of reality—of despair, strength, andresilience. This book, in its tenderness and sensitivity, will offer yousolace and companionship. I’m so glad it exists.”—MIRA PTACIN, author of Poor Your Soul and The In-Betweens“Diana Kupershmit has written a remarkably honest and unflinchingaccount of her journey from rejection to acceptance raising aspecial-needs child. A heartbreaking and heartwarming tribute—and atestimony to one mother’s endless love for her extraordinary child.”—HEATHER SIEGEL, author of The King and the Quirky“Diana Kupershmit’s innate gift of storytelling and astute observationscarefully invite the reader to bear witness to a heartbreaking journeytoward acceptance. This gorgeous and honest memoir holds up the lens tomotherhood and dares to address the profound grief that is capable ofburying us or propelling us. Emma’s Laugh is a mother’s love letter to aremarkable child and a beautiful reminder to each of us that in life,the two most valuable things are time and laughter—everything else issimply details.” —JESSICA CIENCIN HENRIQUEZ, author of If You Loved Me, You Would Know “Diana Kupershmit writes an incredible story after being forged in thefire of her experience. Her story is urgent, necessary, and showsreaders how to persevere with love, in every circumstance.” —EMILY RAPP BLACK, New York Times best-selling author of The Still Point of the Turning World“With a voice that is crisp and clear, Kupershmit shares the story ofher daughter, Emma, and the earthshaking decisions that came withparenting such an exceptional girl. Faced with situations that mostparents are spared, Kupershmit takes us into her darkest moments withtenderness and grace. What shines the brightest is the joy that is setfree when we accept that instead of controlling outcomes perhaps ourgreatest responsibility is in surrendering to the possibility that ourchildren come with their own plan for how they will live and what theywill teach.” —ASHLEIGH RENARD, author of Swing: A Memoir of Doing it All

Diana Kupershmit holds a Master of Social Work degree and works for the Department of Health in the Early Intervention program, a federal entitlement program servicing children birth to three with developmental delays and disabilities. She has published online in the Manifest Station, Power of Moms, Motherwell Magazine, Still Standing Magazine, HuffPost, and Her View From Home. On the weekends, she indulges her creative passion working as a portrait photographer specializing in newborn, family, maternity, and event photography. She lives in New York City.

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