In this episode of 12-Minute Convos with Jesus Believers, Engel Jones connects with author and speaker Kathleen Knapp, joining us from her new home in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. Kathleen shares one of the most emotionally raw, heartbreaking, and ultimately triumphant testimonies of motherhood ever captured on our show. Born and raised in Ontario, Kathleen’s life was completely rewritten when her twin sons born just ten minutes apart were both diagnosed with autism at age three. Shortly after, her younger twin, Benjamin, was diagnosed with a severe brain tumor. Kathleen takes us through the grueling years that followed, including Benjamin undergoing high-risk surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, and a palliative autologous bone marrow transplant he was never expected to survive. Miraculously, Ben survived the transplant, and Kathleen spent the next 26 years providing full-time, hands-on care for him in their home. Following Benjamin's passing in 2020, Kathleen and her husband moved to Moose Jaw during the latter part of COVID, seeking a season of semi-retirement. It was during grief counseling that her therapist read her journals and urged her to share her gift with the world, launching Kathleen’s five-year ministry as an author.
Today, she serves as the Director of Small Group Ministries at her church and has published her breathtaking book, Speechless: A Mother's Memoir of Caregiving. If you are currently a caretaker, walking through the valley of grief, or struggling to find hope after a devastating loss, Kathleen's profound testimony of how God brings beauty from ashes and comforts the brokenhearted will deeply anchor your soul!
Guest's Bio
Kathleen Knapp is a Christian author and Speaker from Western Canada. Her memoir, Speechless: A Mother's Memoir of Caregiving, won the 2026 International Christian Book Award for Christian Memoir. She also wrote Navigating Grief: A Journey of Hope & Healing. Her work appears in Guideposts, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Unveiled Living E-Magazine, and several Christian anthologies. Drawing on 35 years as a Registered Nurse and her own caregiving journey with her late son, Kathleen writes to bring hope to grieving and special-needs families. When she is not playing pickleball, she enjoys a good book or coffee with a friend.
You can find more of her work on her website: http://KathleenKnappWriter.com .