I just finished an interesting book called
Expecting Adam. I have very
mixed feelings about it, so excuse me for a bit while I wax philosophical. The book was written by Martha Beck, who I figured out about 1/3 way through the book is the daughter of the LDS scholar Hugh Nibley; she was, and I assume is, no longer affiliated with the LDS church. The story begins when Beck and her husband were going to Harvard getting advanced degrees and she becomes pregnant with a boy with Down syndrome. The pregnancy progresses from one miracle to another--and I mean miracles. She tells some very beautiful and thought-provoking stories about Adam's childhood, and she details the journey she and her husband take from denial and grief to acceptance. Beck finds that all the values she espoused at Harvard, all the things she thought were important, truly weren't, and she also describes several of the people she encounters during her Harvard pregnancy and their reactions, both ways, to finding out she was not getting an abortion. While her writing style is a little over the top for me (uses too many similes/metaphors in an attempt to be constantly funny), the story is well-told and engaging. I loved reading about Adam, and I was amazed at the things that happened during the
pregnancy. My mixed feelings come from the fact that Beck is very down on organized religion, especially the religion of her roots, and even after all the spiritual happenings during Adam's incubation, she is still searching. She subtley and not-so-subtley jabs at the LDS faith several times. So do I recommend the book? Overall, yes. For me, the story about the pregnancy and the experiences with Adam outweighed Beck's spiritual confusion, and while I was frustrated with her generalizations on religion and Harvard life, I was involved in the story and touched by the journey. I had an uncle with Downs that I, as a child, alternately adored and feared, and I believe that while they come with challenges for
those who love them, people with Downs are a gift in so many ways. The pictures are of my Uncle Alan and Grandparents Hill.
mixed feelings about it, so excuse me for a bit while I wax philosophical. The book was written by Martha Beck, who I figured out about 1/3 way through the book is the daughter of the LDS scholar Hugh Nibley; she was, and I assume is, no longer affiliated with the LDS church. The story begins when Beck and her husband were going to Harvard getting advanced degrees and she becomes pregnant with a boy with Down syndrome. The pregnancy progresses from one miracle to another--and I mean miracles. She tells some very beautiful and thought-provoking stories about Adam's childhood, and she details the journey she and her husband take from denial and grief to acceptance. Beck finds that all the values she espoused at Harvard, all the things she thought were important, truly weren't, and she also describes several of the people she encounters during her Harvard pregnancy and their reactions, both ways, to finding out she was not getting an abortion. While her writing style is a little over the top for me (uses too many similes/metaphors in an attempt to be constantly funny), the story is well-told and engaging. I loved reading about Adam, and I was amazed at the things that happened during the 
pregnancy. My mixed feelings come from the fact that Beck is very down on organized religion, especially the religion of her roots, and even after all the spiritual happenings during Adam's incubation, she is still searching. She subtley and not-so-subtley jabs at the LDS faith several times. So do I recommend the book? Overall, yes. For me, the story about the pregnancy and the experiences with Adam outweighed Beck's spiritual confusion, and while I was frustrated with her generalizations on religion and Harvard life, I was involved in the story and touched by the journey. I had an uncle with Downs that I, as a child, alternately adored and feared, and I believe that while they come with challenges for those who love them, people with Downs are a gift in so many ways. The pictures are of my Uncle Alan and Grandparents Hill.
2 comments:
beautiful post Neale. I also had mixed feelings about the book. I was mostly just saddened that she had these beautiful and miraculous experiences and was *still* trying to explain them. It is really amazing, though, to see how her son changed her live. I can't really remember a lot of it, so maybe now that I'm in a different place in my life I should go back and re-read it!
Does it ever amaze you that people can have such miraculous experiences and still not get it? Heartbreaking, to me, really.
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