Andrew Solomon tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children but also find profound meaning in doing so.
S olomon’s startling proposition is that diversity is what unites us all. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, 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. In Solomon’s telling, these stories are everyone’s stories.
All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent parents should accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on forty thousand pages of interview transcripts with more than three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges. Whether considering prenatal screening for genetic disorders, cochlear implants for the deaf, or gender reassignment surgery for transgender people, Solomon narrates a universal struggle toward compassion and innumerable triumphs of love. Many families grow closer through caring for a challenging child; most discover supportive communities of others similarly affected; some are inspired to become advocates and activists, celebrating the very conditions they once feared. Woven into their courageous and affirming stories is Solomon’s journey to accepting his own identity, which culminated in his midlife decision, influenced by this research, to become a parent.
Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original thinker, Far from the Tree explores themes of generosity, acceptance, and tolerance—all rooted in the insight that love can transcend every prejudice. This crucial and revelatory book expands our definition of what it is to be human.
On autism and disability: Bill and Chris Davis
On deafness: Jackie Roth
On Down Syndrome: Deirdre Featherstone and Catherine Madden
On dwarfism: Clinton Brown III
On schizophrenia: Susan Weinreich
On being transgender: Kim Reed
On being a prodigy: Nico Muhly
Chinese (People’s Republic of China): 背离亲缘
Translator / 译者 : Jian Xuanliang, Xie Renyi / 简萱靓 谢忍翾. Changsha / 湖南科学技术出版社: Hunan Science and Technology Press, 2018. ISBN: 9787535794338.
Reviews & Interviews: Beijing News
Chinese (Taiwan): 背離親緣
Translator: 簡萓靚 / Jane Yi Liang. Taipei: 大家出版 / Everyone Press, 2015. ISBN: 9789866179990.
Reviews & Interviews: China Times | RTHK Radio | Ming Weekly
Dutch: Ver van de Boom: Als je Kind Anders Is
Translators: Chiel van Soelen, Pieter van der Veen, Jos den Bekker, Graa Boomsma. Amsterdam: Nieuw Amsterdam, October 2013. ISBN: 9046818721.
Reviews & Interviews: Volkskrant Boeken | NRC Handelsblad | De Groene Amsterdammer | Psychologies
Estonian: Käbid ja Kännud: Vanemad ja lapsed oma identiteedi otsinguil
Translators: Kadri Metsma, Reet Hiiemäe. Tallinn: Varrak, January 24, 2020. ISBN: 9789985347676. (Footnotes and bibliography)
French: Les enfants exceptionnels: La famille à l’épreuve de la différence
Translators: Anne-Véronique Barancourt, Christine Vivier. Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, February 20, 2019. ISBN: 2213704554. (Read an excerpt)
Hungarian: Alma a fájától – Különleges igényű gyerekek
Fordította/Translators: Abody Rita, Kelemen László.
Budapest: Libri Könyvkiadó, 2017. ISBN: 9789633106716. (Read an excerpt)
Korean: 부모와 다른 아이들 (Parents and Other Children)
Translator: 고기탁 / Ko Gitak. Seoul: 열린책들 / Open Books, 2015. ISBN: 2909100604602.
Turkish: Armut Dibine Düşmeyince – Anne Babalar, Çocuklar ve Kimlik Arayışı
Translator: Nurettin Elhüseyni. Istanbul: Yap? Kredi Yay?nlar?, June 2016. ISBN: 9789750836763. (Read an excerpt)
