Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity Paperback
Author: Visit Amazon's Andrew Solomon Page - ISBN: 0743236726 - Language: English - Format: PDF, EPUB
DESCRIPTION
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2012: Anyone who’s ever said (or heard or thought) the adage “chip off the old block” might burrow into Andrew Solomon’s tome about the ways in which children are different from their parents--and what such differences do to our conventional ideas about family. Ruminative, personal, and reportorial all at once, Solomon--who won a National Book Award for his treatise on depression, The Noonday Demon--begins by describing his own experience as the gay son of heterosexual parents, then goes on to investigate the worlds of deaf children of hearing parents, dwarves born into “normal” families, and so on. His observations and conclusions are complex and not easily summarized, with one exception: The chapter on children of law-abiding parents who become criminals. Solomon rightly points out that this is a very different situation indeed: “to be or produce a schizophrenic...is generally deemed a misfortune,” he writes. “To...produce a criminal is often deemed a failure.” Still, parents must cope with or not, accept or not, the deeds or behaviors or syndromes of their offspring. How they do or do not do that makes for fascinating and disturbing reading. --Sara Nelson
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Solomon, who won the National Book Award for The Noonday Demon (2001), tackles daunting questions involving nature versus nurture, illness versus identity, and how they all affect parenting in his exhaustive but not exhausting exploration of what happens when children bear little resemblance to their parents. He begins by challenging the very concept of human reproduction. We do not reproduce, he asserts, spawning clones. We produce originals. And if we’re really lucky, our offspring will be enough like us or our immediate forebears that we can easily love, nurture, understand, and respect them. But it’s a crapshoot. More often than not, little junior will be born with a long-dormant recessive gene, or she may emerge from the womb with her very own, brand-new identifier—say, deafness, physical deformity, or homosexuality. Years of interviews with families and their unique children culminate in this compassionate compendium. Solomon focuses on the creative and often desperate ways in which families manage to tear down prejudices and preconceived fears and reassemble their lives around the life of a child who alters their view of the world. Most succeed. Some don’t. But the truth Solomon writes about here is as poignant as it is implacable, and he leaves us with a reinvented notion of identity and individual value. --Donna Chavez
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
See all Editorial Reviews
DETAILS
- Paperback: 976 pages
- Publisher: Scribner; Reprint edition (October 1, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743236726
- ISBN-13: 978-0743236720
- Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Specific Demographics > Disabled
- #7 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Special Needs
- #32 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > General
REVIEWS
463 Reviews Far From the Tree Parents Children and the Search for Identity Download it once and read it on your Kindle device Paperback 16 66 Far From the Tree Parents Children and the Search for Identity Children and the Search for Identity Paperback Audible Download Audio Books Far From the Tree tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with Andrew Solomon Far From The Tree children and the search for identity 20 Reviews Trade in Far from the Tree Parents Children and the Search for Identity for an Amazon co uk gift card of up to 4 60 which you can then spend on millions of Parents Children and the Search for Identity By Andrew Solomon Other Editions of This Title Paperback Hardcover Far from the Tree Far From the Tree Parents Children and the Search for Identity is a non fiction book by Andrew Solomon published in November 2012 Download as PDF Printable Parents Children and the Search for Identity audiobook by Andrew Solomon Far From the Tree Parents Children and the Search for Identity Download Free Far From the Tree Parents Children and the Search for Identity By Andrew Solomon Parents Children and the Search for Identity Direct Download Far From the Tree Far from the tree parents children and the search for parents children and the search for identity Far from the tree parents children and the search Far From the Tree Parents Children and the Search for Identity torrent from TorrentR eu Andrew Solomon Children and the Search for Identity Torrent Download
Far From the Tree is a TOME. I mean, it's a great big, heavy book in every sense of the word. To be honest, I was a little intimidated when my copy arrived! I didn't read it cover to cover, but started with the autism chapter because it was relevant to our family. I found it to be a very well-researched, sensitive look at how autism can affect a parent's life, hopes, and perceptions.
That chapter was so good, I moved to the crime chapter and stayed up way too late because I could not put it down. Thank you, Mr. Solomon for pointing out the absurdities in our justice system when it comes to dealing with juvenile crime. (And as for the reviewer who questioned including crime at all, this book focuses on any possible way that a child can turn out different than their parents expected, and being guilty of a crime definitely seems appropriate to me.) I learned a lot from this chapter, and was particularly fascinated by the Klebolds' story. Once again, Soloman wrote with sensitivity about a very difficult and controversial topic.
From there I read the chapter on dwarfism, and then finally turned to the first pages of the book and started reading the beginning! I wanted to learn about how families deal with a diagnosis of autism; instead I learned about how families deal with all kinds of unexpected outcomes, how resilient parents can be when faced with hardships, and how connected are the identities of parents and their children. As a parent, I understand the constant struggle to balance who we want our children to be and who they actually are. "There is no such thing as reproduction" may be my new mantra.
One more thing: in 700 pages (okay, I admit, I didn't read the Acknowledgments) I never found an example of "martyrdom" that one reviewer complained about.
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