Book Review
Expecting Adam

By Martha Beck
Reviewed by Bill London
from the June 2004 Newsletter

Martha Beck’s book, Expecting Adam, should be read by two groups of people. Group One includes the parents of children with Down syndrome, as well as their friends and relatives. Group Two is everyone else in the known universe.

Yes, Beck’s book is that good. Her skill with the language is amazing. She writes in a style that is friendly, soft, witty, and absolutely engaging.

The topic is equally strong. Beck writes (as she repeatedly notes) an honest and complete report of her journey from young happily-married doctoral student at Harvard University to motherhood (their daughter Katie) and then the monumental experience of conceiving, birthing, and raising their son Adam (who was born with Down syndrome).

Along the way, Adam challenges his parents’ Harvard-trained rationalism and redefines their lives. Beck is confronted and comforted by angelic supernatural forces beyond her comprehension. And finally, she realizes how much she learns from her son about life and love.

This is really a book about the Meaning of Life, expressed in such familiar tones that the reader is confronted and excited by the Mystery.

Expecting Adam is available at BookPeople and at the Moscow Public Library.

Bill London edits this newsletter, and to his enormous enjoyment, completed his reign as Moscow Renaissance Fair King.

© Copyright on articles, recipes and images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective contributors, except were otherwise noted.

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