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poenaestante's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
This book initially drew me in with the little boy's medical mystery and I sorta glossed over the mom's issues. However, eventually the mom endeared herself to me. I did find it annoying how moony she was over her husband, but I'll forgive it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content
gmd316's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
Gorgeous writing, a great love letter to her marriage, her son, and certain people in her life that make this medical mystery bearable to live with. More jesusy than I would've typically liked in a memoir but didn't feel too preachy. Her descriptions of her children are beautiful and kind.
brice_mo's review
4.0
Two of my biggest fears are failure of the body and failure of the mind. Taylor Harris's "This Boy We Made" deals explicitly with the intersection of the two, as well as how those weaknesses fostered grace and peace in her life.
I'm not a parent, but I can't imagine many things more horrific than learning your child has an undiagnosable—and dangerous—health issue. Throughout the book, Harris writes thoughtfully about an illness that resists the narrative simplifications we so often use to alleviate our pain. There's no cathartic release through diagnosis, and finding support for her son, whether in educational or medical settings, proves to be an ongoing challenge for the author. Along the way, she highlights how complicated the situation was/is by drawing attention to systemic race-related barriers to healthcare access. It's heavy stuff.
Still, the book is hopeful, and I found myself encouraged by how an impossible situation was a source of redemption, albeit one that remains complex and difficult.
For readers of faith, there's a great deal to appreciate here. Harris is honest about her anxieties, doubts, and frustrations in a way that flouts the tropes of religious writing, and it ultimately allows her to write with a faith-affirming depth that can only be achieved by acknowledging the fullness of life's pain.
I'm not a parent, but I can't imagine many things more horrific than learning your child has an undiagnosable—and dangerous—health issue. Throughout the book, Harris writes thoughtfully about an illness that resists the narrative simplifications we so often use to alleviate our pain. There's no cathartic release through diagnosis, and finding support for her son, whether in educational or medical settings, proves to be an ongoing challenge for the author. Along the way, she highlights how complicated the situation was/is by drawing attention to systemic race-related barriers to healthcare access. It's heavy stuff.
Still, the book is hopeful, and I found myself encouraged by how an impossible situation was a source of redemption, albeit one that remains complex and difficult.
For readers of faith, there's a great deal to appreciate here. Harris is honest about her anxieties, doubts, and frustrations in a way that flouts the tropes of religious writing, and it ultimately allows her to write with a faith-affirming depth that can only be achieved by acknowledging the fullness of life's pain.
libraryghostie's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Vomit, Racism, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Police brutality
aphoenixwriting's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.25
ncrozier's review
3.0
This book was inherently readable, and I read it quite quickly. But I'm not still not sure quite what it was about, or what the book's intended purpose was. It flitted around a lot.