Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Almost Joy: The Incredible Overcoming Life of Evelyn Peterson, Ph.D
    Almost Joy: The Incredible Overcoming Life of Evelyn Peterson, Ph.D
    Almost Joy: The Incredible Overcoming Life of Evelyn Peterson, Ph.D
    Ebook130 pages1 hour

    Almost Joy: The Incredible Overcoming Life of Evelyn Peterson, Ph.D

    By Dr. Evelyn H. Peterson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Evelyn Peterson was a most remarkable and courageous woman. Born with a hereditary muscular disease she was forced to spend almost all her life in a wheelchair. This disability, however, in no way affected her intelligence or her determined motivation to achieve the best with the gifts that God had given her. This book is a must-read for someone suffering with any physical problems, or indeed anyone striving to achieve his or her fullest potential in the face of adversity.

    From Introduction by O. Quentin Hyder, M.D., M.Div.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateJul 20, 2011
    ISBN9781456711825
    Almost Joy: The Incredible Overcoming Life of Evelyn Peterson, Ph.D
    Author

    Dr. Evelyn H. Peterson

    Evelyn H. Peterson impacted many lives as a teacher and as a psychologist in full-time counseling practice over many years. She lived an expectant Christian life, witnessing through scripture applications and in life situations on an everyday basis. In her church and community, she was respected and looked to as a voice of wisdom and compassion for greater understanding between people. Few of her acquaintances, however, knew the depth of her personal struggles and losses. She has chosen to share many of her deepest personal experiences in this brief memoir with the purpose to honor Gods provident care and presence in her daily personal life and to encourage others in their own faith journey.

    Related to Almost Joy

    Related ebooks

    Biography & Memoir For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Family Ties

      May 2, 2021

      Family Ties
      4 min read

    • Article

      Love, Not Child Abuse

      Jul 1, 2021

      Love, Not Child Abuse
      3 min read

    • Article

      Cool Dads: Tough Times Edition

      Jul 3, 2022

      Cool Dads: Tough Times Edition
      7 min read

    • Article

      After Prison, I Became a Better Dad

      Jun 14, 2019

      “Even when a parent has been part of a child’s pain, that parent’s love can still be the antidote.”

      6 min read

    • Article

      THE YEAR I stopped EATING

      Jul 19, 2023

      THE YEAR I stopped EATING
      8 min read

    • Article

      Born small, STANDING TALL

      Mar 3, 2021

      Born small, STANDING TALL
      3 min read

    • Article

      Just a Choice: LaToya Watkins on Motherhood

      Aug 30, 2022

      Though I love my children fiercely, I don’t think I ever really grew into being their mother. The post Just a Choice: LaToya Watkins on Motherhood appeared first on The Millions.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Queen Of Common Sense.

      Dec 10, 2020

      Queen Of Common Sense.
      9 min read

    • Article

      After-effects

      Feb 9, 2021

      After-effects
      12 min read

    • Article

      “WITHIN a COUPLE of HOURS, MY LIFE had been TURNED UPSIDE DOWN“

      May 19, 2019

      “I ALWAYS KNEW I WANTED A FAMILY. I was adopted and desperate to have my own children. When I fell pregnant, quite quickly after we started trying, I was so excited. I was so happy I was going to have a baby very soon. I never had any reason to think

      3 min read

    • Article

      THE greatest LOVE

      Oct 21, 2021

      THE greatest LOVE
      10 min read

    • Article

      What Grandpa Taught Me

      May 27, 2022

      What Grandpa Taught Me
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Most Powerful Words

      May 28, 2021

      The Most Powerful Words
      6 min read

    • Article

      Baby Boys and Expletives

      Jun 10, 2022

      Baby Boys and Expletives
      5 min read

    • Article

      Ariel Levy: “Feminism Never Said You Can Have It All”

      Mar 14, 2017

      Ariel Levy is a journalist, author, and staff writer at The New Yorker who has written long stories about South African Olympian Castor Semenya, gay-rights activist Edith Windsor, and what The Joy of Sex looks like for today’s reader. But if you know

      7 min read

    • Article

      Confidence Builder

      Sep 26, 2023

      Confidence Builder
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Words That Stick

      Mar 14, 2023

      The Words That Stick
      9 min read

    • Article

      Michelle de Swarte

      Jul 12, 2022

      WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE? To make it easier for people who come after you. I don’t know, as a whole, that we’re succeeding, but I think that’s the meaning: to try and pass on the lessons you’ve learned so younger generations don’t have to repeat t

      2 min read

    • Article

      Baby Boys and Expletives

      Jun 10, 2022

      Baby Boys and Expletives
      5 min read

    • Article

      Moms On The Warpath

      Oct 27, 2023

      Moms On The Warpath
      10 min read

    • Article

      Q&a With Richard Lui

      Mar 26, 2019

      Q&a With Richard Lui
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Almost Joy

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Almost Joy - Dr. Evelyn H. Peterson

      Contents

      Introduction

      Preface

      Dedication

      CHAPTER 1

      Being a wanted child

      (ages birth to seven years old)

      CHAPTER 2

      Being a Lonely Child (ages eight to eleven years old)

      CHAPTER 3

      Being an angry teen (ages twelve to fourteen years old)

      CHAPTER 4

      Being a focused teen (ages fifteen to twenty years old)

      CHAPTER 5

      Being a learning adult

      (ages twenty one to twenty seven years old)

      CHAPTER 6

      Learning from relationships

      (ages twenty eight to thirty six years old)

      CHAPTER 7

      Reflective Years (over the age of thirty six)

      A New Beginning

      Introduction

      Evelyn Peterson was a most remarkable and courageous woman. Born with a hereditary muscular disease, she was forced to spend almost all her life in a wheelchair. This disability, however, in no way affected her intelligence or her determined motivation to achieve the best with the gifts that God had given her.

      This brief autobiography, so openly and honestly written, beautifully summarizes many of the challenges she faced and her triumphant achievements in spite of her limitations. Most especially noteworthy is the section on forgiveness which reveals some profound insights which have deepened my understanding of this spiritual quality.

      After earning her PhD in psychology, Evelyn spent over forty years counseling hundreds of clients who sought her advice and guidance. These were invariably given with a superior integration of both professional expertise and Christian principles and compassion.

      This book is a must-read for someone suffering with any physical problems, or indeed anyone striving to achieve his or her fullest potential in the face of adversity.

      O. Quentin Hyder, M.D.

      Author: The Christian’s Handbook of Psychiatry

      Preface

      Who would want to read about me? I don’t know the answer to this question, but I will share anyway.

      At age six, another first grader named Janet hurts me. I am the last one out as the class breaks up for recess. I walk out holding onto the desk and doorways. Janet, a fellow classmate, says in an angry tone, You walk funny. What’s wrong with you? Are you stupid too? I scream back, I’m not stupid. I walk the best I can.

      When I get home, I tell my mother about it. I cry out, It’s not fair!

      She tells me, in a stern voice and with a raised eyebrow, Good little Swedish girls do not let others know their feelings or they will be hurt.

      I responded, How then can anyone know me? I want to be known! Mom walks away in silence unable to respond but probably thinking, How could I ever have a daughter like this?"

      Now I am no longer a good little Swedish girl, but an American adult who has spent a lifetime trying to help others grow by teaching them to share who they really are…no masks…free to be themselves. This freedom can only exist when you are accepted in Jesus, who loves the real you.

      There is a basic psychological principle: before you can share what you feel you must first know who accepts you and why. Without this foundation of acceptance, feelings are based upon either conformity to the expectations of others or the distortions of ones own masks. My story, by contrast, is one of knowing that I am accepted /loved by my parents, then by God and finally by myself. This foundation gives me the freedom to face my feelings even when I may not like them. Then I may choose to express these feelings in appropriate ways. Being loved becomes the essence for finding and fulfilling my identity. Now let me share how His love has transformed my life to be a witness for Him.

      John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life.

      No man comes to the Father but by me.

      Evelyn H. Peterson, Ph.D. October 2009

      Dedication

      To Rebecca, Abigail, Samuel

      and unborn baby Peterson

      in the hope that they will find their true selves

      With love, Tia Ashie 10/2009

      ***********

      Rebecca, Abigail, Samuel and Natalie Peterson 1/2010

      missing image file

      CHAPTER 1

      Being a wanted child

      (ages birth to seven years old)

      1.1 Receiving Love No Differently

      Doctors, doctors, doctors…. Somehow I feel ashamed to be me—being looked at as different, but not knowing why. Mom and Daddy are with me as many doctors look at me, shake their heads and say, I don’t know what she has.

      I am the reason for the pain in my Mother’s eyes, but I can do nothing about it. I overhear Mom tell them about two other boys who were born before me and died. My busy ears tell me I could have two more big brothers. When we get home, Mom hugs me and says, I am so glad I have you. I felt very wanted in spite of my shame.

      Psalm 127:3 Lo children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

      1.2 Wiggling with Grandma

      Stop wiggling, says Grandma in a stern voice as she tries to pin a newspaper pattern around me. I want to dance and play, not hold still. Grandma sits in front of the sewing machine in the upstairs hallway. The sun shines through a hall window as she pins and cuts the pattern. Soon her foot moves the pedal and I have a new dress and panties to match. Then I go out to play - proud to look pretty for my family.

      Grandma makes special food for me like potato pancakes with applesauce or a glass of hot milk at bedtime. I wish I could crawl into her lap, but her eyes say no. She is unable to hug me, and I feel rejected. With my Mom, Dad, and Grandfather I can always count on getting a hug. I wish I could tell Grandma how much I want a hug from her. Maybe someday she will be able to give me one.

      Mark 10:16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

      missing image file

      Evelyn Peterson as a baby (insert) and at 7 years old.

      missing image file

      Image 3: Teddy Bears on clothesline.

      1.3 Crying with teddy bears

      One cold winter morning, I awaken, get out of bed in Grandma’s living room and go downstairs to find my Mother. She is making breakfast in the kitchen while Daddy has a pot of coffee going. The smell of coffee always makes me feel secure because Daddy is home and I know everything is okay.

      As I look out of the window, I scream when I see, on the clothesline, hanging by their ears, my three little teddy bears. I think, Surely they must be in pain. My big brother, Bobby, walks into the kitchen laughing at me while I am crying and takes a picture of my little bears. Mom brings them inside and puts them in the oven to warm them up. She holds me and yells at my big brother. Then I hug my bears, Jay, Little Jay and Jimmy Richard.

      That night, after a time of prayer with Mom, I go to bed with my bears safe under the covers. I cannot see them so I believe Bobby cannot see them either. I sleep on a cot in Grandma’s living room upstairs. Bobby’s room is next to mine. I never trust Bobby again around my bears and dolls, which are like children to me.

      Psalm 115:18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.

      1.4 Teaching my dolls

      School is wonderful. I am a big girl in kindergarten. It’s morning. I hold my Mother’s hand as we walk two city blocks to my school and back again in the afternoon. Then I crawl up the stairs to the hallway where there is a door leading to the attic with four steps in front of it. I sit my dolls and teddy bears on the steps in rows to be able to learn today’s lesson. I have a chalk board and write out the lesson for them. It is such a joy to teach them. My Granddad, Deede, listens in the living room next door. He tells my Mother, She will be a good teacher. I feel special to be able to share with my dear children.

      What good is it if I learn something and don’t share it? My dolls and teddy bears are like little people who need to learn just like I

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1