Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
From the National Book Award-winning author of the “brave…deeply humane…open-minded, critically informed, and poetic” (The New York Times) The Noonday Demon, comes a book about the consequences of extreme personal and cultural differences between parents and children.
From the National Book Award–winning author of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression comes a monumental new work, a decade in the writing, about family. In Far from the Tree, 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.
Solomon’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, as are the triumphs of love Solomon documents in every chapter.
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. 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.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Previews available in: English
Subjects
homosexuality, deafness, dwarfism, Down Syndrome, autism, scizophrenia, disability, prodigies, rape, crime, transgender, Identity (Psychology), Wellcome Book Prize winner, Books for a Better Life Award winner, J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize winner, Dayton Literary Peace Prize winner, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner, National Council on Crime and Delinquency Award winner, National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, Psychology, Parents of exceptional children, Exceptional children, Parent and child, Children with disabilities, Psychological aspects, Parents of children with disabilities, nyt:combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction=2012-12-02, New York Times bestseller, Families, Parent-child-relationships, Identity, 80.25 remedial education: general, 80.82 education in families, 71.21 family, nuclear family (sociology), Family and Relationships, Children with disabilities--psychology, Children with disabilities--united states--psychology, Exceptional children--psychology, Exceptional children--united states--psychology, Parents of children with disabilities--united states, Parents of exceptional children--united states, Identity (psychology)--united states, Parent and child--psychological aspects, Parent and child--united states--psychological aspects, Disabled children--psychology, Child, exceptional--psychology, Social identification, Parents--psychology, Parent-child relations, Hv888.5 .s65 2012, Hv 888.5 s65 2012, 362.4083/0973, Child psychology, Child psychology, juvenile literature, Parent and child, juvenile literature, Disabled Children, Exceptional Child, ParentsPeople
Andrew Solomon, Lisa Hedley, Matt Roloff, Leslie Park, Leslye Sneider, Betty Adelson, Cheryl Brown, Clinton Brown, Ginny Foos, Monique Duras, Arthur FrankPlaces
United States, GallaudetShowing 3 featured editions. View all 13 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity
Mar 06, 2014, Vintage
paperback
0099460998 9780099460992
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
2
Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity
2013, Chatto & Windus
Paperback
in English
0701188766 9780701188764
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
3
Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity
2012-11, Scribner
Hardcover
in English
- 1st Scribner hardcover ed.
0743236718 9780743236713
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
US / Canada Edition
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Library of Congress MARC recordInternet Archive item record
marc_openlibraries_phillipsacademy MARC record
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record
Better World Books record
ISBNdb
Work Description
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, and 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.
Excerpts
first sentence
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?August 24, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
July 21, 2024 | Edited by Tom Morris | Merge works |
December 19, 2023 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
March 17, 2022 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
May 30, 2012 | Created by LC Bot | import new book |