Overcoming vs. Undergoing with Jillian Benfield

The day we found out our child’s diagnosis lives in all of us. It is a marker of a major shift in our journey as human beings. Who we are, how we feel, what we know, all began to change that day. And society will tell us to “overcome” that experience or look on the “bright side” of whatever that diagnosis brought us, but what if that doesn’t feel possible?

Today host, Jessica Patay, interviews mom, Jillian Benfield, about her journey becoming mother to her son, Anderson. Jillian has written a book called The Gift of the Unexpected, in which she uses her own life-altering moment—her son’s Down syndrome and congenital heart defect diagnoses— to encourage readers not to gloss over the hard parts of the human condition. In this interview she introduces us to the idea of “undergoing” the diagnosis, instead of “overcoming” it, as well as many other helpful insights. 

Jillian Benfield is a former journalist and news anchor. She holds a broadcast journalism degree from the University of Georgia. As a freelance writer, her essays about living an unexpected life have appeared on sites such as TODAY, Good Morning America, Yahoo! News, and ABC News. Jillian regularly advocates for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in her writings, in her community, and as a part of the National Down Syndrome Congress’s National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition. Jillian and her husband, Andy, and their three children make their home on Florida’s Space Coast. 

Learn more about Jillian here. 

Find Jillian’s book here. 

Brave Together is the podcast for We are Brave Together, a not-for-profit organization based in the USA. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to strengthen, encourage, inspire and validate all moms of children with disabilities and other needs in their unique journeys. 

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Brave Together Podcast is a resource produced by We Are Brave Together, a global nonprofit that creates community for moms raising children with disabilities, neurodivergence, or complex medical and mental health conditions. The heart of We Are Brave Together is to preserve and protect the mental health of caregiving moms everywhere.

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