Able To Laugh – Jade And John Reynolds (1)

What about all the Dutch ovens I give her, for example? Of course, many go the other way too. In their desire to elevate those with disabilities, they can clumsily slip into wokeness. While well meant, comments like ‘There’s nothing wrong with your wife’ can have the opposite effect, downplaying all she’s been through and the challenges she faces every day. I realise there is a good heart behind these messages and they are probably a way of saying that she’s still worthy of love and dignity and still has value.

But the phrase ‘There’s nothing wrong with your wife’ sounds perilously close to a Tory disability benefits policy. It’s hard not to be sarcastic sometimes, but I often want to reply, and sometimes do, ‘Seriously? There isn’t? She made me carry her up steps last week when the lift was broken. So lazy!’ Jade I remember watching a documentary where Kate Garraway spoke about her husband’s health deterioration after he contracted Covid.

He became so unwell he needed carers, and Kate remarked on some of the advice and comments from friends and family who had said things like, ‘You can leave him, you know. You didn’t sign up for this.’ She would reply, ‘Pardon? I made vows. I literally did sign up for this.’ Sure, we hope that we have more ‘better’ than ‘worse’ times, and more ‘health’ than ‘sickness’, in our marriages, but promises are promises and should mean something.

You only have to watch dating shows from over the last ten years to know that a consumeristic attitude towards dating and marriage has emerged. As we’ve already discussed, the multitude of these programmes has normalised the idea that the second the butterflies are no longer there, you shouldn’t be either. I recently saw an Instagram video showing Brené Brown discussing the shared roles in a marriage. She said: Marriage is never fifty-fifty. Sometimes he’s on twenty… I got [him]… other times, I’ve got ten and he’s at twenty and we know that we have to sit down at the table and have a conversation any time we’re at less than a hundred combined and figure out a plan of kindness towards one another.

A partnership works when you can carry their twenty or they can carry your twenty.1 I think many people would assume that John is mostly carrying my twenty, and while my additional health challenges mean he probably carries more than I’m able to, there are many times where the opposite is true. Most weeks there are also days when I’m carrying his twenty. I’ll be honest, it does frustrate me when people think John’s primary role in our lives is to serve as my carer.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been times when John has had to care for me when I’ve been very ill, but that isn’t true of our entire relationship. Most of the time we’re just like any other married couple.

‘How we respond to adversity in life often defines how the rest of our story unfolds. Jade and John show not just the power of resilience, in Able to Laugh but humour as well. It’s a wonderfully inspiring story of love, strength and triumph over adversity.’ Simon Thomas, TV presenter, author and president of Blood Cancer UK ‘If you like your books full of gritty honesty, laugh-out-loud humour and cheeky but challenging stories about life (including the realities of life with a disability), this is the book for you.

But more than that, this is a beautiful story of two people whose love, determination, wit and wisdom are inspiring and hilarious in equal measure. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.’ Cathy Madavan, author, speaker and broadcaster ‘This book is inspirational. A must-read for any woman who knows the predicament of being a very patient woman with an incredibly annoying husband.’ Suzie Kennedy, actor, singer, comedian and speaker ‘We love Jade and John’s posts on social media – and now this book! Funny, informative, down-to-earth and hopeful, Able to Laugh is a beautiful and moving account of the reality of disability.

We recommend it to everyone.’ Archie and Sam Coates, senior leaders at Holy Trinity Brompton ‘Able to Laugh is a refreshing and honest take on navigating life’s challenges with humour and resilience. This book beautifully combines deep reflection, wisdom and wit, offering readers a unique and authentic glimpse into Jade’s journey through paralysis as well as their family life. John and Jade’s storytelling is engaging and relatable, making this book a must for anyone looking for a heartfelt and entertaining read. Able to laugh is a true gem that will leave you laughing, crying and ultimately feeling inspired by the power of laughter in the face of adversity.

Highly recommended!’ Dan Blythe, global youth director for Alpha Youth ‘This book had me crying tears of sadness, then quickly after tears of joy. It will have you literally laughing out loud in parts. Jade and John are exceptional people who tell their story in a vulnerable, honest and humorous way. This book is one we can all learn and grow from.’ Elle Limebear, singer, songwriter and artist ‘Annoyingly, John and Jade are as brilliant at long-form prose as they are at short-form videos.

If they decide to do a stand-up tour off the back of this, I am giving up comedy forever.’

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 299f58acaf9f7be9
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,988,211 bytes (2.85 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 158
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 269.5 minutes
• Total Words: 53,899
• Total Characters: 294,620
• Average Words per Page: 341.13
• Average Characters per Page: 1864.68

Most Frequent Words

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