MY SON'S STORY

by John P. Frank ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 1952

A bare, direct record of the tragedy of a defective child which has been transcribed with great sincerity and containment, primarily in the hope of helping other parents who are faced with a situation such as this. This follows, with an impressive fility of fact and feeling, the story of John Frank, a professor of law, Lorraine, his wife, and Petey- their firstborn, who during his first months promised to be a normal by. From the first convulsion- and coma, to the second- and the third- a few months ter, this traces the slow realization of the possible implications, to the doctor, who after an encephalogram and an air study, lets them have it straight and gives them the diagnosis of Petey's cortical atrophy which leaves him with no future, forecasts the pattern of retardation, possible violence, and an early death. Here is the story of the parents' acceptance of that verdict; the hope which sparked up occasionally- particularly in Lorraine; the affection and the determination to help him which strengthened with each day; the physical and emotional preoccupation which was dangerously obsessive and exhausting; the social withdrawal which foreshadowed isolation; through to the decision, rejected at first by Lorraine, to place Petey in an institution for his sake, for theirs, and for that of the second child to come... An account of harrowing, heart-breaking ordeal which in its practical awareness of all the realities it entails- physical, emotional and financial as well-serves as a testament and object-lesson.

Pub Date: March 10, 1952

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1952

Categories: NONFICTION