Meet Monica Mangiacapra

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monica Mangiacapra. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Monica, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I get my resilience from Christ. When I’m weak he strengthens me. When I doubt he gives me peace that surpasses my understanding. It’s not always easy and sometimes I have tried to just power through things on my own without seeking God’s strength or asking for help from loved ones and I fall flat every time. I’ve learned over the years that we have to be resilient or we will never enjoy this life. Resiliency is a gift in that it helps us get stronger. It also allows our faith to grow to see God’s purpose in those past valleys. With resiliency comes endurance and strength that we will pull from when we hit future obstacles.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Hi! My name is Monica Mangiacapra. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Louis. We have 3 children – Lily, Louie, and Isaac. Prior to becoming a stay at home mom, I worked over a decade in IT recruiting, HR, Operations, and Program Management. I quit to stay at home when we were pregnant with our second child.

In 2022 we welcomed our last baby, Isaac. We had waited all pregnancy to find out the gender of our baby as we already had been blessed with a boy and a girl. We wanted to be surprised! After my routine 37 week sonogram turned into an emergency c-section, we were surprised to find out he was a boy and that he also had an extra 21st chromosome – or what is more commonly known as Down syndrome.

After he was born, no one mentioned his markers for Down syndrome. We were actually in the recovery room holding him and taking a breath since his birth had been rather rushed. My husband, was the one who noticed his unique characteristics and after we reviewed a list on Google we realized he had Down syndrome. At that exact moment, Psalm 139: 13-16 rang loud in my head –

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

We were at peace. We knew God didn’t make mistakes and while Isaac’s Down syndrome diagnosis was a surprise we had not anticipated, his diagnosis did not change his value or the love we had for him! I knew God’s word says that all are created in God’s image and we are all fearfully and wonderfully made. Isaac’s extra chromosome was no surprise to God but an intentional part of Isaac’s design.

Those first days in the hospital were a blur. Isaac was very healthy and didn’t require any time in the NICU. We were bombarded with mentions of therapies and specialists we would need to follow up with in addition to genetic testing to get a formal diagnosis

As a mama, I thought of our two older kids – who were 2 and 5 at the time. How would we explain to them that their baby brother may have to live life a little differently than other kids his age?

So I started to look for a children’s book that included the truth of biblical scripture while also illustrating all kinds of disabilities. I actually majored in English and Communications from Texas A&M and I had always had a love for writing. Children’s books were one of our favorite ways to bring up new topics with our kids.

I searched and searched, and I found nothing like I was looking for. There were books specifically on Down syndrome but I didn’t want a book with detailed specifics. Even people with Down syndrome – while they may have shared characteristics – no two people are the same! We had no idea what Isaac’s abilities would be like!

Life went on and all our kids grew. Then one day, God placed a very simple story in my head. A story that very much mirrored Psalm 139 but with illustrations of all different disabilities – mobility, hearing, communication, physical differences and more. It seemed too simple but I couldn’t even draw a stick figure!

I argued with God and kept doubting that writing a children’s book was just not possible. But God kept prompting me – over and over again. So I wrote a formal manuscript. I thought writing it out would be sufficient. But God kept prompting me – more and more.

I started to look for an illustrator. I couldn’t have a children’s book without illustrations! I randomly went to Instagram and typed #christianillustrator and BOOM – up pops Ashley Gossett’s Instagram page.

We had no mutual connections but her illustrations were whimsical and beautiful. I sent her a DM and to my surprise she responded. From there we brainstormed together big dreams. Her heart understood my heart and Different by Design was born. For us it was all about ministry and sharing God’s word with families that I know would need his reminder. That all our kids are Different but that is completely by God’s design.

We worked for almost a year and in Feb 2024 we self published Different by Design. Within 3 weeks we had caught the attention of Fox News Digital and they wanted to do a book profile!

In under 2 months we had sold over 600 copies and read to over 1000 kids in preschools and elementary students. Parents with kids who have Down syndrome, rare genetic diseases, autism, sensory differences and more have all raved about how it has helped them talk to their kids. Our book has become a tool for families to utilize that help disabilities not to be intimidating. It’s also helped kids embrace and find beauty in all their differences and know that is how God created them. Our book does this all without even naming one diagnosis giving parents the freedom to direct their conversations for their specific needs.

We have since updated Different by Design to include disability prompts for parents to use to continue dialogue on disabilities, prayers they can pray together, and 2 pages of disability resources.

We have future plans to create an entire series with each of the characters from Different by Design to elaborate more on specific diagnosis and also topics like suffering and grief while also standing true to biblical scripture.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
There are several qualities that are needed when you want to take an idea to a physical product. For me it was the humility to know that I didn’t know all the answers. I had never published a book. I sought out counsel from other authors and illustrators who had success publishing books. I also did a lot of research and trial in error in different self publishing platforms, printing options, and formatting.

It was also important to be completely transparent with my illustrator so we could collaborate closely and work off each other’s strengths. Obviously, illustrating and formatting was not my strength so I let her own that piece. While my expertise was keeping the story respectful and appropriate to the different disabilities and I pulled on my expertise as a mom with a child with a disability.

Both my illustrator and I also kept very focused on our goal – a finished book to share with the world that would glorify God. We never wanted it to be about us. It was always a form of ministry – getting God’s true word out in the gap in biblical and disability inclusive literature.

My advice to anyone who are early in their journey is to just to have a firm idea of what your end goal is and just start. Learn as you go – one step at a time.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

We are looking for a traditional publisher who would be interested in bringing our future series to a wider audience. We are also looking for nonprofits, doctor offices, therapy offices, and churches who would be interested in collaborating so we can bring this book to more families. If they would like to collaborate they can email me at ajoyfuladvocate@gmail.com.

People with loved ones with disabilities are one of the most underserved populations in America with less than 20% of them attending a church on a regular basis. These families need respite care and need to be reminded that they are loved unconditionally by God and their hardships are not forgotten.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Jessica Cernat Photography
Jenna LaRue Photography

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