Diana Kupershmit holds a Master of Social Work degree and works for the Department of Health in the Early Intervention program, a federal entitlement program servicing children birth to three with developmental delays and disabilities. She has published online in the Manifest Station, Power of Moms, Motherwell Magazine, Still Standing Magazine, and Her View From Home. On the weekends, she indulges her creative passion working as a portrait photographer specializing in newborn, family, maternity, and event photography. She lives in New York City with her family.
“Rarely in life, in marriage, or in motherhood does a person have to make the choices made in the life of this author. And as she makes them, we go with her, deep into our own selves, traveling on her details to a journey to our own consciences, hearts, and minds. This is a powerful tale of family and of the kind of hard-fought courage that we always hope exists in this world. Beautifully written and wonderfully told, this is the book for right now.”
- MARION ROACH SMITH, author of The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life
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.
Book Release Events
Podcast interview with Ronit Plank of
And Then Everything Changed
Podcast interview with Zibby Owens of
Moms Don't Have Time To Read Books
Instagram live on Reading With Robin:
Tell Me About Your Book
“Emma’s Laugh traces the author's moving, exhilarating, and devastating journey as a parent. Told with humor, humility, and grace, it is filled with deep sentiment but never falls into sentimentality. This moving family story had me at the edge of my seat, clutching a box of tissues, never wanting it to end.”- MARIA KUZNETSOVA, author of Oksana Behave!- “Emma’s Laugh is an honest and beautiful look at parental love. From her early rejection of her special-needs child to her gradual falling in love with her daughter, Kupershmit shows us how much a mother is willing to give of herself for the sake of her child. I read with my heart in my throat all the way to the end.”- MONICA WESOLOWSKA, author of Holding Silvan: A Brief Life
- “Emma’s Laugh made me laugh, and cry, and smile, and cry again. Kupershmit delivers literary love with a capital L. This is what motherhood is. This is what love is. Just as Kupershmit climbs into a crib to ‘mold herself’ around her daughter when she suffers headaches and pain, I felt myself molding to this story, ever involved, rooting for mother and daughter and this family all the way.”- ELIZABETH COHEN, author of The House on Beartown Road: A Memoir of Learning and Forgetting
- “Diana Kupershmit has written a remarkably honest and unflinching account of her journey from rejection to acceptance raising a special-needs child. A heartbreaking and heartwarming tribute—and a testimony to one mother’s endless love for her extraordinary child.”- HEATHER SIEGEL, author of The King and the Quirky
- “Diana Kupershmit’s innate gift of storytelling and astute observations carefully invite the reader to bear witness to a heartbreaking journey toward acceptance. This gorgeous and honest memoir holds up the lens to motherhood and dares to address the profound grief that is capable of burying us or propelling us. Emma’s Laugh is a mother’s love letter to a remarkable child and a beautiful reminder to each of us that in life, the two most valuable things are time and laughter—everything else is simply details.”- JESSICA CIENCIN HENRIQUEZ, author of If You Loved Me, You Would Know
- “How important it is that Kupershmit has given us this gem of a book. It is a story of heartache and of reality, of despair, strength and resilience. This book will offer you solace and companionship, in its tenderness and sensitivity. I'm so glad it exists.”- MIRA PTACIN, author of Poor Your Soul and The In-Betweens
- “Diana Kupershmit writes an incredible story after being forged in the fire of her experience. Her story is urgent, necessary, and shows readers how to persevere with love, in every circumstance.”- Emily Rapp Black, The New York Times best-selling author of The Still Point of the Turning World.
- “With a voice that is crisp and clear, Kupershmit shares the story of her daughter, Emma, and the earthshaking decisions that came with parenting such an exceptional girl. Faced with situations that most parents are spared, Kupershmit takes us into her darkest moments with tenderness and grace. What shines the brightest is the joy that is set free when we accept that instead of controlling outcomes, perhaps our greatest responsibility is in surrendering to the possibility that our children come with their own plan for how they will live and what they will teach.”- Ashleigh Renard, author of Swing
Published Work
