I just finishd reading Schuyler's monster: a father's journey with his wordless daughter by Robert Rummel-Hudson. I was so excited with I found it in the new books section at the library! Nea's apraxia is not the same as his daughter's diagnosis -- she has a brain malformation called bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria -- but I'm just loving reading something related to what we are going through.
Actually, it’s eerie, how the journey is similar. Daughter, non-verbal, very happy, accepted by peers, very social. Also, beautiful. And funny and smart. And the hand coordination issues that make signing difficult. And then the realization that there are assistive communication devices. And the repetitive breaking of the parent’s heart. Why, really, the whole book felt like a validation of the difficulty of our journey in the last two years. Hey, remember that super-fun sedated MRI, last summer? They were checking whether Nea had that same rare brain malformation.
Giant plus on this book: the guy is really funny. I truly can’t distance myself enough to say whether this book would appeal to a wider audience, but if it was written for an audience of me it’s hard to imagine a better fit.
For even more Schuyler, see http://www.schuylersmonsterblog.com/.
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1 week ago
2 comments:
It's a wonderful, tender, humorous, well-written book! I have recommended this book to people who like medical stories, "slice of life" memoirs (which is my reason for picking it up) and underdog/survival stories. Schuyler's tale has broad, far-reaching appeal. It's not just for my dear Bluestem here. ;-)
I am putting it on my Amazon list right this very moment!
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