Emma's Laugh

When Diana’s first child, Emma, is born with a rare genetic disorder, Diana relinquishes her to an adoptive family, convinced they will parent and love Emma better than she ever could—but when fate intervenes and the adoption is reversed, bringing Emma back home, Diana experiences the healing and redemptive power of love.

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As Diana surveyed her newborn baby's face, languid body, and absent cry,
she knew something was wrong. Then the doctors delivered devastating
news: her first child, Emma, had been born with a rare genetic disorder
that would leave her profoundly physically and intellectually disabled.



Diana imagined life with a child with disabilities as a dark and insular
one—a life in which she would be forced to exist in the periphery
alongside her daughter. Convinced of her inability to love her
“imperfect” child and give her the best care and life she deserved,
Diana gave Emma up for adoption. But as with all things that are meant
to be, Emma found her way back home.



As Emma grew, Diana watched her live life determinedly and
unapologetically, radiating love always. Emma evolved from a survivor to
a warrior, and the little girl that Diana didn’t think she could love
enough rearranged her heart. In her short eighteen years of life, Emma
gifted her family the indelible lesson of the healing and redemptive
power of love.



This is a mother’s requiem to her perfectly imperfect child—a child who
left too soon, but whose lessons continue to inspire a life lived and
loved.