Far From the Tree

By Andrew Solomon

Subjects: rape, Exceptional children--psychology, dwarfism, 80.25 remedial education: general, nyt:combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction=2012-12-02, Identity (psychology), Children with disabilities--united states--psychology, Wellcome Book Prize winner, Social identification, Family and Relationships, transgender, Identity (psychology)--united states, Parents of exceptional children, Parent and child, Child, exceptional--psychology, crime, Families, New York Times bestseller, Identity, J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize winner, deafness, Down Syndrome, Parent and child--united states--psychological aspects, Parent-child-relationships, Hv 888.5 s65 2012, Hv888.5 .s65 2012, Psychological aspects, Parents of children with disabilities, Parent-child relations, Disabled children--psychology, Children with disabilities, Books for a Better Life Award winner, Exceptional children--united states--psychology, 80.82 education in families, Parent and child--psychological aspects, autism, Parents of exceptional children--united states, homosexuality, National Book Critics Circle Award Winner, Parents of children with disabilities--united states, Children with disabilities--psychology, 362.4083/0973, disability, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner, Exceptional children, National Council on Crime and Delinquency Award winner, Identity (Psychology), prodigies, Parents--psychology, Dayton Literary Peace Prize winner, Psychology, 71.21 family, nuclear family (sociology), scizophrenia

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.