About Heather

Heather is a New York Times best-selling author, podcaster and a Down syndrome advocate, working to create a more inclusive world where everyone belongs. For more than a decade, she has led this effort by shouting worth, shifting narratives and reimagining what it looks like to embrace our differences.

The Lucky Few organization is an invitation to build a kinder, more inclusive world. We accomplish this through a combination of advocacy and activism, narrative-shifting and storytelling. The Lucky Few believes in inspiring and challenging our audiences, calling them to listen, read, share, contribute and support as we work to create a world where differences are embraced and everyone belongs.

ENDORSEMENTS

“A page turner. A hope giver. A life changer. Lucky are those who read these pages—their hearts will explode with the joy that we all truly get to be the luckiest of all.”

–Ann Voskamp, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Broken Way and One Thousand Gifts

“I absolutely love this book. I love Heather Avis dearly, and her warmth and passion and fierce love come through on every page. This is a story about adoption, about family, about special needs . . . and really, more than anything, it’s a story about faith. I’m so incredibly inspired by the way Heather listens to God’s voice, and as I put down this book, I prayed for more of that kind of faith in my own life.”

–Shauna Niequist, author of Savor and Present Over Perfect

“If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the task before you, you will find a companion in this book. This book details the incredible adventure of the Avis family as they face some of life’s greatest challenges and turn them into beautiful opportunities. It gives each of us hope in our own journey full of insurmountable odds.”

–Donald Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Like Jazz and Scary Close

“Heather is a modern-day superwoman goddess warrior with a heart that is brave and true. She doesn’t pretend parenting is easy or that she hasn’t faced darkness and been broken many times over. But she is honest. She chooses to risk every time. She chooses love every time, and even in the face of great struggle, she has said yes and jumped. Heather’s face showed up for me the moment I was crumbling. I was scared for our daughter, and her words breathed hope right into my trembling soul. This book will make your heart and arms open wide. It may cause your family to grow in numbers or move you to hold close the babies you have—plus ugly cry. It may cause all these things. This book is a testament to the power of a mother’s love.”

–Lisa Gungor, songwriter, musician, and other half of musical collective “Gungor”

"When I first met Heather Avis, I was drawn to her family’s story because we share a love for foster care and adoption. But The Lucky Few is about so much more. Heather shows us what it means to seek after the heart of God, and she inspires us to do the same. You’ll want to buy this book for everyone you know."

–Andy Stanley, Pastor, author and communicator

"As a fellow Down syndrome mama, Heather’s words drew me in, igniting my heart from the very first page. Her powerful honesty and passion will light you aflame too, reminding us all that the path beyond easy and normal is the most precious. It’s where we find God, and become the lucky few.”

–Rebekah Lyons, Author, Freefall to Fly and You are Free

“What started as a social hashtag has turned into a movement for the way we look at our lives. In The Lucky Few, Heather Avis shares a story that is honest, raw, hopeful, and deeply inspiring. May we all see the world—and its people—through this beautiful lens.”

–Rachel Hollis, author and lifestyle expert (TheChicSite.com)

“Heather Avis is a guide for all of us ‘lucky few’ walking in the wilderness. She reveals the exquisite beauty always hiding within the brokenness, the promise that in the darkness God is up to something bright and colorful. Joy is always waiting in the paths we would never choose for ourselves. As I read it, I felt like I was sitting with a good friend over coffee, letting her remind me all over again to notice God’s grace right here in the middle of my own story.”

–Micha Boyett, author of Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer

“With profound honesty, Heather Avis describes the bold journey she and Josh took into the world of Down syndrome and adoption—a journey where ‘joy and sorrow are so perfectly interwoven.’ The Lucky Few is a story filled with metaphors of hope: beauty shaped from the shards of broken dreams, stars of light bursting through darkness, fragile heartbeats filling the lonely silence. But beneath the hopeful metaphors are the hard, daily choices to trust God with life-threatening surgeries, with unexpected birth families, with overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, with moments when bravery feels remarkably like “wanting to puke.” I intended to scan this book quickly, but couldn’t. I had to read slowly, in part because the story was so utterly captivating, but equally because God was using Heather’s words to challenge me to be braver, to be more willing to step into the unknown, to be more prayerful and trusting. Thank you, Heather (and amazing husband, Josh!) for living and sharing The Lucky Few.”

–Lynne Hybels, advocate for global engagement, Willow Creek Community Church, and author of Nice Girls Don’t Change the World
 

“This is a beautiful and honest story about coming to grips with God’s best for your life—especially when society’s expectations clash with your reality. God’s grace in finding perfect children for Heather and Josh Avis and growing in them the courage to become the parents these children need is witness to all of us looking for divine clarity in the midst of seemingly confusing and sometimes devastating circumstances.”

–Mark Reddy, president of The JUSTICE Conference

“I so admire Heather's tremendous faith and willingness to let God lead her. Her family's story will encourage so many other families just waiting to be brought together. This book will make you remember what true Love looks like in action.”

–Sarah Dubbeldam, Editor-in-Chief/Creative Director of Darling Magazine

“The Lucky Few is a book about the deep-unto-deep kind of love we have as parents, a love with power over fear. Heather Avis’s voice is a beaming light that infuses me with courage, not because she herself is braver than the rest of us, but because she shows us in this beautiful story that we must put down our expectations and ridiculous bootstrap mentalities, so we can open ourselves to the intimate love God has for us. This book is a beacon for anyone who thinks she can’t do the very thing she must.”

–Amber C. Haines, author of Wild in the Hollow: On Chasing Desire and Finding the Broken Way Home

“Heather Avis is an inspiration as a mom and as a woman. If I didn’t know her personally, I would wonder if the grace pouring through her words was authentic. But she is the real deal, and her story of love makes me want to be a better mother and a better person.”

–Laura Tremaine, writer and podcaster

“Oftentimes we see people do courageous acts, like adopt children with special needs, and we assume they are fearless heroes. Heather shows us that courage is actually birthed out of fear and disappointment. You will see yourself in her story and will be inspired to move through your own fears and disappointments in order to live a more courageous life.”

–Jessica Honegger, founder of Noonday Collection

“The Lucky Few is a beautiful and compelling story about the transformation of fear into hope. As you read about the Avis’s journey, you’ll be inspired to imitate their courageous surrender to the life-changing invitation of Jesus.”

–Mike Erre, host of the VOXPodcast and team leader at VOX Christian Community

“Heather Avis’s words and story exemplify one of the hardest but most beautiful truths in motherhood—that you cannot predict the path on which it will lead you, but if you show up wholeheartedly, willing to be stretched by love, the greatest joy you’ve ever known is guaranteed to light the way. I’m inspired to stir up more areas of ‘comfortable noes’ in my life and see, as Heather has beautifully shown us, how life expands into more grace and joy with a simple yes.”

–Kelle Hampton, author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Bloom

“Heather's story is both exceptional and relatable. While the details may differ, so many of us have found that life does not always go according to plan, and that sometimes we are placed on a path we never expected. Heather's book shares her personal journey with infertility, adoption, special needs parenting, and ultimately, learning that our best-laid plans may be exchanged for something better than we ever could have imagined.”

–Kristen Howerton