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traceyanneg's review against another edition
5.0
It is about a woman who finds out that the son she's expecting has Down's Syndrome. Some pretty amazing and magical things happen to her when she's pregnant to help her to know that things are going to be okay despite her fears. This was a wonderful book and it was very uplifting.
jeanelizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
This book is not for everyone (it's a little wacky) but in general I liked the candid rhythm and style of her writing. I was able to take away some profound ideas in the end even though I wouldn't have attributed all of her experiences to the same things that she does. But then I guess that's partially the point.
margyly's review against another edition
4.0
Kate Gridley chose this as her book for our women’s book group (otherwise known as Women Whose Husbands Are Out of Town Too Much). Harvard snobs learn that there’s more to life than cat-fighting your way up the academic ladder, through the author’s pregnancy with a Down Syndrome son.
dozylocal's review against another edition
4.0
Supposedly a true story but sometimes a little hard to believe. That said I found it a very positive book about something that is usually associated with pain and fear and a feeling of "why did this happen to me?". A real page turner and tear jerker.
jenzbookshelf's review against another edition
1.0
This book was recommended to me as a wonderful read, filled with spiritual strength. Unfortunately, I had a very different experience with it. It greatly disturbs me that so many women have been duped by this book.
It's a memoir of Martha Beck's spiritual struggle as she gives birth to a son with Down Syndrome. In reality, it's the story of a woman's fall from truth and grace. She repeatedly rejected the hand of the Lord reaching out to her during her time of need.
Beck is a gifted writer. This book is extremely well written. Each time I put it down due to my uncomfortable feelings, I felt compelled to pick it up again and continue reading it. As I continued, I felt the Lord's Spirit withdraw from me. When I finished, I had to confess my disillusionment to those who recommended it to me. Through Beck's mastery of the written language, she fools many of her readers.
It's a memoir of Martha Beck's spiritual struggle as she gives birth to a son with Down Syndrome. In reality, it's the story of a woman's fall from truth and grace. She repeatedly rejected the hand of the Lord reaching out to her during her time of need.
Beck is a gifted writer. This book is extremely well written. Each time I put it down due to my uncomfortable feelings, I felt compelled to pick it up again and continue reading it. As I continued, I felt the Lord's Spirit withdraw from me. When I finished, I had to confess my disillusionment to those who recommended it to me. Through Beck's mastery of the written language, she fools many of her readers.
bdfarber13's review against another edition
4.0
I love this book. Truly. I had no idea what to expect; it sounded interesting enough but Martha Beck's account of the magical-spiritual experiences she had during her pregnancy with Adam left me full of wonder and sweetness. Her flash forwards to Adam as a toddler and kid actually made me laugh out loud. It's a humble, wise, comical and tragic, wonderous kind of story.
Adam has given his mom such amazing insight that I think could benefit all of us going too fast and forgetting that happiness can be here and now. I have told everyone who listen about this book because it has been that lovely for me. I hope you'll take the time to check it out for yourself.
Adam has given his mom such amazing insight that I think could benefit all of us going too fast and forgetting that happiness can be here and now. I have told everyone who listen about this book because it has been that lovely for me. I hope you'll take the time to check it out for yourself.
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. This book is about a couple who learns their unborn child is going to have Down Syndrome, so I assumed it would be a tear-jerker. While I certainly did get teary at times, it also was side-splittingly funny and the funny parts are what makes me want to recommend it to people. I especially enjoyed:
- The author's wickedly funny (or should that be "wicked funny"?) descriptions of life and work at Harvard in the 80's. Don't know if they are accurate but definitely represent some "types" of academia.
- The author's descriptions of her and her husband's different family cultures were very funny but also a great illustration of how misunderstandings can arise out of our different backgrounds.
- The author wrestling with her feelings about her unborn child's disability. She was very real about the different feelings she had - her fear and revulsion about the disability, and her certainty that she loved the baby and wanted to keep it - yet without putting a political agenda on it or saying that everyone else should make the same choice she did.
My biggest problem with the book was that the author spends a lot of time describing her spiritual experiences: having unseen hands comfort her and heal her placental bleeding (!), a mysterious figure usher her out of danger, a mystical dream give her psychic foreknowledge, and so on. For me, reading about someone else's spiritual experiences is kind of like reading about someone else's delicious meal - it might make me wish I were eating at that restaurant, but it leaves me unsatisfied. Also, I didn't mind so much when she stuck to description but when she got to interpretation, things got a little weird. Early on she had a more open, complex interpretation, but later on in the book it really seemed that she believed she was personally singled out for a lot of divine/ magical intervention. Could be true, but I wasn't convinced. The most meaningful spiritual parts to me were about other people's kindness and generosity, and the healing and support she received from other actual people.
P.S. Reading some Goodreads reviews made me realize there is a lot the author left out of this book about her own life - for example, her history with the LDS church, or the fact that she and her husband have both recently come out as gay (they had previously co-written a book for Mormons on how to stop being gay). That makes me feel the book is a little incomplete as none of these things are even alluded to! Weird.
- The author's wickedly funny (or should that be "wicked funny"?) descriptions of life and work at Harvard in the 80's. Don't know if they are accurate but definitely represent some "types" of academia.
- The author's descriptions of her and her husband's different family cultures were very funny but also a great illustration of how misunderstandings can arise out of our different backgrounds.
- The author wrestling with her feelings about her unborn child's disability. She was very real about the different feelings she had - her fear and revulsion about the disability, and her certainty that she loved the baby and wanted to keep it - yet without putting a political agenda on it or saying that everyone else should make the same choice she did.
My biggest problem with the book was that the author spends a lot of time describing her spiritual experiences: having unseen hands comfort her and heal her placental bleeding (!), a mysterious figure usher her out of danger, a mystical dream give her psychic foreknowledge, and so on. For me, reading about someone else's spiritual experiences is kind of like reading about someone else's delicious meal - it might make me wish I were eating at that restaurant, but it leaves me unsatisfied. Also, I didn't mind so much when she stuck to description but when she got to interpretation, things got a little weird. Early on she had a more open, complex interpretation, but later on in the book it really seemed that she believed she was personally singled out for a lot of divine/ magical intervention. Could be true, but I wasn't convinced. The most meaningful spiritual parts to me were about other people's kindness and generosity, and the healing and support she received from other actual people.
P.S. Reading some Goodreads reviews made me realize there is a lot the author left out of this book about her own life - for example, her history with the LDS church, or the fact that she and her husband have both recently come out as gay (they had previously co-written a book for Mormons on how to stop being gay). That makes me feel the book is a little incomplete as none of these things are even alluded to! Weird.
jellokites's review against another edition
3.0
I was hoping to rate this book higher than 3 stars, but just found it so-so. Being a mom, I was interested in reading it. Although, I do not have a child with Downs Syndrome, I was interested to hear Martha's story.
I think the part that bothered me the most was the reactions from her family, friends and colleagues. Her family basically ignored the fact she was expecting a child with Down's, even joked about it. I would have liked to have seen how the family was once Adam was born.
It also bothered me the how the people of Harvard treated Martha & her husband.
I think the part that bothered me the most was the reactions from her family, friends and colleagues. Her family basically ignored the fact she was expecting a child with Down's, even joked about it. I would have liked to have seen how the family was once Adam was born.
It also bothered me the how the people of Harvard treated Martha & her husband.
lindseygwilson's review against another edition
3.0
My review on June 7, 2008:
Captivating story. I liked the writing style. Some of it was strange, some horrifying (with regards to abortion attitudes). Some things were a bit hard to believe but I read quickly with an open mind.
~~~
I'm moving my books over to Good Reads from Book Tracker on Facebook. I honestly don't even remember reading this book. I gave it 3.5 stars on Facebook. I'm glad I'm reviewing my booklist because I am finding some books, like this one, that I may want to revisit.
Captivating story. I liked the writing style. Some of it was strange, some horrifying (with regards to abortion attitudes). Some things were a bit hard to believe but I read quickly with an open mind.
~~~
I'm moving my books over to Good Reads from Book Tracker on Facebook. I honestly don't even remember reading this book. I gave it 3.5 stars on Facebook. I'm glad I'm reviewing my booklist because I am finding some books, like this one, that I may want to revisit.