A well-researched, perceptive exploration of a rare genetic disorder seen through the eyes of a mother and son.
A personal look at Williams syndrome, “a genetic fluke that strip[s] one in every 10,000 people of the inherent wariness, skepticism, and inhibition that [are] hardwired into the rest of us.”
In her debut, former Houston Chronicle reporter Latson combines the moving story of Gayle and her son Eli, a child with Williams, with scientific data on this rare genetic disorder. Characterized by an elfish appearance, sleeplessness, heart murmurs, sensitivity to sound, and cognitive and developmental difficulties, the biggest issue with Williams syndrome is that people who have it are overly friendly, too trusting, and unconditionally loving toward everyone, including strangers. For Gayle, this meant she was not able to let Eli out of her sight, for she never knew when he would head toward someone with open arms, wanting a hug or wanting to give a hug. Approximately 30,000 Americans have Williams syndrome, making it less common than Down syndrome or autism, but its effects on the parents and children are no less profound and life-changing. Latson shares Gayle’s story from the moments of Eli’s diagnosis and into his teen years. As a single mother, she struggles with raising Eli, trying to navigate the health care system, work, and finding places where Eli can be himself without causing disruptions. Attending a special camp helped Eli make new friends, but Gayle was unable to relax and enjoy herself. When Eli entered puberty, Gayle faced further obstacles, as Eli openly experienced sexual desire but was not fully aware of what that meant physically. Latson tells the story with great sympathy and eloquence, giving voice to the frustration, anguish, and despair a parent feels when their child struggles with a rare disorder.
A well-researched, perceptive exploration of a rare genetic disorder seen through the eyes of a mother and son.Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4767-7404-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
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