Welcoming Bryson: A Family Milestone from 2010

In 2010, our family received two announcements several months apart: first that another child was coming, and then that Bryson Max Young had arrived. The original posts were brief family updates. Preserved together, they tell a fuller story of anticipation, worry, gratitude, and the love that surrounded his beginning.

Originally published November 2, 2010. Substantially revised and expanded July 2026.

A Birthday “Sequel”

On my birthday in March 2010, I learned that our family was going to receive what the author in me immediately called a “sequel.” Our second child was expected in November.

To share the news, we bought our older son a new “Big Bro” shirt and had him wear it throughout the day. It was a simple announcement, but it became one of those family moments that could not be surpassed by any ordinary birthday gift.

That birthday also arrived during the early life of The Canticle Kingdom. I had recently seen the first review of the novel written by another author, and my wife gave me a set of knights from a German toymaker because they reminded her of the characters in the book. Publishing memories and family memories became intertwined in ways I could not have planned.

Bryson Arrives

Bryson was born on the night of November 1, 2010. He weighed five pounds, fourteen ounces and measured eighteen and a half inches long.

He experienced a few complications at first, but doctors expected him to make a full recovery. My wife was doing well, and we were thrilled to welcome another little boy into our home.

The uncertainty surrounding a newborn’s health can make every update feel enormous. In those first hours, ordinary measurements, test results, and reassuring words carried a weight they would not have carried on another day.

An Overwhelmingly Loving Response

Friends, relatives, and members of our community reached out with congratulations, prayers, concern, and practical help. I remember feeling overwhelmed—in the best sense—by the amount of love directed toward one small child and his family.

How Bryson Shaped Later Work

Bryson’s life later became connected with one of my most meaningful collaborative publishing projects. The Christmas anthology Sing We Now of Christmas was created to benefit the National Down Syndrome Society in his honor.

That project brought together stories inspired by Christmas carols and used the anthology’s original campaign to support a cause that had become personal to our family. The experience is preserved in Sing We Now of Christmas: A Charity Advent Anthology.

What This Record Preserves

• The delight of learning our family would grow
• A brother wearing a shirt to share the news
• The nervousness and gratitude surrounding Bryson’s birth
• The exact details that mattered so much in the hospital
• The support offered by friends and family
• The way one child’s life later influenced creative and charitable work

Much has changed since these moments were first recorded. What remains is gratitude: for a birthday announcement, a safe arrival through uncertainty, and a child whose presence would continue to shape our family’s life and work.