Far From The Tree: A Dozen Kinds of Love - Hardcover

Solomon, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0701176113 ISBN 13: 9780701176112

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2013

Synopsis

* * * * * * * BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week * * * * * * *

'Andrew Solomon's investigation of many of the most intense challenges that parenthood can bring compels us all to re-examine how we understand human difference. Perhaps the greatest gift of this monumental book, full of facts and full of feelings, is that it constantly makes one think, and think again.' Philip Gourevitch

In this seminal new study of family, Andrew Solomon tells the stories of parents who learn to deal with their exceptional children and find profound meaning in doing so.

He introduces us to families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, disability, with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, Solomon documents repeated triumphs of human love and compassion to show that the shared experience of difference is what unites us.

'Reading Far from the Tree is a mind-opening experience.' Eric Kandel

Drawing on interviews with over three hundred families, Solomon documents ordinary people making courageous choices, whether considering prenatal screening for genetic disorders, cochlear implants for the deaf, or gender reassignment surgery.

Parents and children are challenged to their limits, but often grow closer as a result; many discover supportive communities of others similarly affected; some are inspired to become activists, celebrating the conditions they once feared.

Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original thinker, Far From The Tree explores themes of generosity, acceptance and tolerance - and shows how love for one's children can transcend every prejudice. This crucial and revelatory book expands our definition of what it is to be human.

'A brave and ambitious work, bringing together science, culture and a powerful empathy. Solomon tells us that we have more in common with each other - even with those who seem anything but normal - than we would ever have imagined.' Malcolm Gladwell

About this title

Product Description:

Drawing on personal testimonies of overcoming prejudice and intolerance and the author's own experience as a gay man of straight parents, this book explores how parents bridge the gap between their child and themselves and records the voices of families seldom heard.

Review:

"The tales Solomon returns with, of profound disability and extreme differences overcome, make it a bible of empathy and inclusion" (Cressida Connolly Spectator)

"Andrew Solomon's Far From The Tree is a prodigious, illuminating book about the challenge of being a parent - especially when children are out of the ordinary" (Tim Adams Observer)

"Life-affirming, thought provoking and highly readable, the book was compiled over 10 years of interviews and I found it deeply moving" (Kate Kellaway Observer)

"Many accounts are desperately moving, but Solomon goes far beyond cheap pity... The book is an exquisite written study of parental love - as well as "a how-to manual for receptivity"" (Kerry Hudson Herald)

"Far from the Tree is a landmark, revolutionary book. Andrew Solomon plumbs his topic thoroughly, humanely, and in a compulsively readable style that makes the book as entertaining as it is illuminating." (Jennifer Egan)

About this edition

• Publisher: Chatto & Windus
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0701176113
• ISBN 13: 9780701176112
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 976