Jennifer Radtke
When a Catholic Gets a Lutheran Pregnant
Book blurb...
When a Catholic Gets a Lutheran Pregnant is a powerful, deeply moving memoir that explores family, faith, disability, and resilience through the life and loss of Todd Simon — a man born with profound intellectual and physical disabilities whose quiet strength shaped everyone around him. Told through the eyes of his sister and lifelong guardian, this book exposes the realities of mid-century institutionalization, the emotional cost of caregiving, and the enduring bond between siblings. Set against the backdrop of a large Midwestern family shaped by poverty, religious tension, and generational trauma, the memoir is both heartbreaking and unexpectedly humorous. At once raw and compassionate, this story is not only about loss — but about dignity, belonging, and the kind of love that endures when systems fail and words fall short.
