Several years ago, Sharon Y. Edlin unexpectedly found herself inducted into what she jokingly calls the “secret society” of blended family life.
Like many people, she never imagined her life would unfold quite this way:
falling in love, getting married, having children, divorcing, moving, remarrying, blending households, and suddenly finding herself helping raise five teenagers under one very chaotic roof.
To Sharon, blending a family often felt less like a peaceful Hallmark movie and more like living inside a three-ring circus — exciting, exhausting, unpredictable, emotional, hilarious, and occasionally just plain crazy. Between endless grocery store trips, nonstop teenage appetites, emotional ups and downs, and the challenge of maintaining her sanity while juggling daily family life, she realized there had to be other people out there experiencing the very same struggles.
That realization led to the creation of her popular blog, “The Blog Blender,” where readers found comfort, humor, honesty, and reassurance in knowing they were not alone. The overwhelming response from readers eventually inspired Sharon to turn her experiences into the three-book memoir series, “Welcome To My Blended Family Circus.”
Written with warmth, humor, heartfelt honesty, and plenty of real-life chaos, this series explores the joys and challenges of blended-family life, marriage, motherhood, growing older, and learning to laugh through the unpredictability of it all.
At the center of the circus is Sharon’s deep love for her family — including her husband, affectionately known throughout the series as “The Professor.”
If your family life sometimes feels messy, exhausting, funny, emotional, and beautifully imperfect all at once… welcome to the circus.
Like many people, she never imagined her life would unfold quite this way:
falling in love, getting married, having children, divorcing, moving, remarrying, blending households, and suddenly finding herself helping raise five teenagers under one very chaotic roof.
To Sharon, blending a family often felt less like a peaceful Hallmark movie and more like living inside a three-ring circus — exciting, exhausting, unpredictable, emotional, hilarious, and occasionally just plain crazy. Between endless grocery store trips, nonstop teenage appetites, emotional ups and downs, and the challenge of maintaining her sanity while juggling daily family life, she realized there had to be other people out there experiencing the very same struggles.
That realization led to the creation of her popular blog, “The Blog Blender,” where readers found comfort, humor, honesty, and reassurance in knowing they were not alone. The overwhelming response from readers eventually inspired Sharon to turn her experiences into the three-book memoir series, “Welcome To My Blended Family Circus.”
Written with warmth, humor, heartfelt honesty, and plenty of real-life chaos, this series explores the joys and challenges of blended-family life, marriage, motherhood, growing older, and learning to laugh through the unpredictability of it all.
At the center of the circus is Sharon’s deep love for her family — including her husband, affectionately known throughout the series as “The Professor.”
If your family life sometimes feels messy, exhausting, funny, emotional, and beautifully imperfect all at once… welcome to the circus.
After more than 30 years as a holistic Pediatric Occupational Therapist, Sharon Y. Mandeville-Edlin, OTR/L, repeatedly heard frightened and frustrated parents ask the same questions:
“Why didn’t my doctor tell me this?”
“Why won’t anyone listen when I know something is going on with my child?”
“What do I do now that my child has been diagnosed?”
“Why is diet so important?”
“Can someone please write all of this down?”
“The Dragonfly Approach of Pediatric Occupational Therapy” was written to help answer those questions in a clear, compassionate, parent-friendly way.
Designed specifically for parents and caregivers, this book helps bridge the overwhelming gap that often follows a child’s diagnosis or the realization that something may not be developmentally right. Written with warmth, understanding, and gentle humor, Sharon shares practical guidance without overwhelming readers with dense clinical language or heavy medical jargon.
Inside, parents will find helpful information about:
• retained reflexes
• developmental delays
• sensory processing challenges
• ADHD and dyslexia
• diet and nutrition
• various forms of treatment and therapy
• the professionals your child may need to see
• important questions to ask
• checklists and practical next steps
Drawing from both professional expertise and personal experience as a mother of children with special needs — while also navigating her own ADHD, dyslexia, retained reflexes, and sensory processing challenges — Sharon offers readers a deeply personal and heartfelt perspective grounded in decades of hands-on experience helping families.
“The Dragonfly Approach” recognizes that every child and every family is unique. Its goal is to help parents feel less overwhelmed, more informed, and better equipped to advocate for the support and guidance their child needs.
If you are searching for an approachable, encouraging resource to help guide you through your child’s developmental journey, you have found it.
“Why didn’t my doctor tell me this?”
“Why won’t anyone listen when I know something is going on with my child?”
“What do I do now that my child has been diagnosed?”
“Why is diet so important?”
“Can someone please write all of this down?”
“The Dragonfly Approach of Pediatric Occupational Therapy” was written to help answer those questions in a clear, compassionate, parent-friendly way.
Designed specifically for parents and caregivers, this book helps bridge the overwhelming gap that often follows a child’s diagnosis or the realization that something may not be developmentally right. Written with warmth, understanding, and gentle humor, Sharon shares practical guidance without overwhelming readers with dense clinical language or heavy medical jargon.
Inside, parents will find helpful information about:
• retained reflexes
• developmental delays
• sensory processing challenges
• ADHD and dyslexia
• diet and nutrition
• various forms of treatment and therapy
• the professionals your child may need to see
• important questions to ask
• checklists and practical next steps
Drawing from both professional expertise and personal experience as a mother of children with special needs — while also navigating her own ADHD, dyslexia, retained reflexes, and sensory processing challenges — Sharon offers readers a deeply personal and heartfelt perspective grounded in decades of hands-on experience helping families.
“The Dragonfly Approach” recognizes that every child and every family is unique. Its goal is to help parents feel less overwhelmed, more informed, and better equipped to advocate for the support and guidance their child needs.
If you are searching for an approachable, encouraging resource to help guide you through your child’s developmental journey, you have found it.
