Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent should parents accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on ten years of research and interviews with more than three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges.
Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original and compassionate thinker, Far from the Tree explores how people who love each other must struggle to accept each other—a theme in every family’s life.
Andrew Solomon has written an epic book about families who have children who are "different": gay, deaf, dwarfs, down syndrome, autistic, schizophrenic, disabled, prodigies, criminals, transgender, and the product of rape. It might seem this is a grim topic for a huge (700 pages) book, but it is not. It is about coping, learning, triumphing...in most cases. There seems to be no way to celebrate the life of a criminal...and Solomon interviews one of the families of the Columbine shooters...but
Mind-shifting excellence.https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solo...In 1993 Andrew Solomon was assigned by the New York Times to write about Deaf culture. Most deaf children are born to hearing parents, and those parents often prioritize teaching them to function in the hearing world, spending years on lipreading and spoken language, precious years that could have been spent learning history, maths or philosophy. Many of those children stumble upon Deaf identity in adolescence, setting out onto a
It took me a fairly long time to read this book. Not because it is dry, but because it made me stop and reflect not only on my life, but on those around me. This has to be the kindest book I have read in a long time. Mr. Solomon is so generous and open with everyone he interviews. He also gives of himself to those same people. Many are in very distressing situations, others have coped with awful situations and done so spectacularly, The author is not at all shy to point out what he learned from
This book was a real journey for me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did, I have to admit. I thought that it was going to be pretty dry and terse, but actually it's filled with stories of love and tragedy. It's one of the most thorough looks at a whole variety of conditions, illnesses, disabilities and challenges. The research behind this is thorough and profound. It's also written in a lyrical but scientific way. Even someone who knows next to nothing about these
This book can be best described as a Piping Hot Mess....this book's topic bites off not only more than Solomon himself can chew, but more than that guy who's won the Nathan's Famous Forth of July hotdog-eating contest for the past six years running could chew, in all six years.Read the rest of this review at my blog.
Andrew Solomon
Hardcover | Pages: 962 pages Rating: 4.27 | 16927 Users | 2176 Reviews
Define Epithetical Books Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
Title | : | Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity |
Author | : | Andrew Solomon |
Book Format | : | Hardcover |
Book Edition | : | US / Canada |
Pages | : | Pages: 962 pages |
Published | : | November 13th 2012 by Scribner |
Categories | : | Nonfiction. Psychology. Parenting. Science. Sociology |
Ilustration As Books Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
Andrew Solomon’s startling proposition in Far from the Tree is that being exceptional is at the core of the human condition—that difference is what unites us. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down's syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, or multiple severe disabilities; with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, and Solomon documents triumphs of love over prejudice in every chapter.All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent should parents accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on ten years of research and interviews with more than three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges.
Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original and compassionate thinker, Far from the Tree explores how people who love each other must struggle to accept each other—a theme in every family’s life.
Point Books Concering Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
Original Title: | Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity |
Edition Language: | English URL http://www.farfromthetree.com |
Literary Awards: | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Nonfiction (2013), J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize (2013), Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Nonfiction (2013), Wellcome Book Prize (2014), National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction (2012) Green Carnation Prize (2013), NAIBA Book of the Year for Nonfiction (2013), Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2013) |
Rating Epithetical Books Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
Ratings: 4.27 From 16927 Users | 2176 ReviewsCrit Epithetical Books Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
An amazing book about the love it takes to raise extraordinary children. Andrew Solomon's 700-page powerhouse Far from the Tree explores the families of kids with stigmatized conditions: kids born deaf, with autism, or as prodigies; kids who are the progeny of rape, who commit crimes, who are disabled; kids who have disabilities, dwarfism, and Down syndrome. He delves into the intricacies of each of these issues, including several case studies that he collected after ten years of interviews withAndrew Solomon has written an epic book about families who have children who are "different": gay, deaf, dwarfs, down syndrome, autistic, schizophrenic, disabled, prodigies, criminals, transgender, and the product of rape. It might seem this is a grim topic for a huge (700 pages) book, but it is not. It is about coping, learning, triumphing...in most cases. There seems to be no way to celebrate the life of a criminal...and Solomon interviews one of the families of the Columbine shooters...but
Mind-shifting excellence.https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solo...In 1993 Andrew Solomon was assigned by the New York Times to write about Deaf culture. Most deaf children are born to hearing parents, and those parents often prioritize teaching them to function in the hearing world, spending years on lipreading and spoken language, precious years that could have been spent learning history, maths or philosophy. Many of those children stumble upon Deaf identity in adolescence, setting out onto a
It took me a fairly long time to read this book. Not because it is dry, but because it made me stop and reflect not only on my life, but on those around me. This has to be the kindest book I have read in a long time. Mr. Solomon is so generous and open with everyone he interviews. He also gives of himself to those same people. Many are in very distressing situations, others have coped with awful situations and done so spectacularly, The author is not at all shy to point out what he learned from
This book was a real journey for me. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did, I have to admit. I thought that it was going to be pretty dry and terse, but actually it's filled with stories of love and tragedy. It's one of the most thorough looks at a whole variety of conditions, illnesses, disabilities and challenges. The research behind this is thorough and profound. It's also written in a lyrical but scientific way. Even someone who knows next to nothing about these
This book can be best described as a Piping Hot Mess....this book's topic bites off not only more than Solomon himself can chew, but more than that guy who's won the Nathan's Famous Forth of July hotdog-eating contest for the past six years running could chew, in all six years.Read the rest of this review at my blog.
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