Search - Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic

Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
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Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
Author: Martha Beck

Book Information
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:

ISBN-13: 9780425174487 - ISBN-10: 0425174484
Publication Date: 8/1/2000
Pages: 336


Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover

Book Description:
The "slyly ironic, frequently hilarious"(Time) memoir about angels, academics, and a boy named Adam...

A national bestseller and an important reminder that life is what happens when you're making other plans.

Put aside your expectations. This "rueful, riveting, piercingly funny" (Julia Cameron) book is written by a Harvard graduate--but it tells a story in which hearts trump brains every time. It's a tale about mothering a Down syndrome child that opts for sass over sap, and it's a book of heavenly visions and inexplicable phenomena that's as down-to-earth as anyone could ask for. This small masterpiece is Martha Beck's own story--of leaving behind the life of a stressed-out superachiever, opening herself to things she'd never dared consider, meeting her son for (maybe) the first time...and "unlearn[ing] virtually everything Harvard taught [her] about what is precious and what is garbage."

"Beck [is] very funny, particularly about the most serious possible subjects--childbirth, angels and surviving at Harvard." --New York Times Book Review

"Immensely appealing...hooked me on the first page and propelled me right through visions and out-of-body experiences I would normally scoff at." --Detroit Free Press

"I challenge any reader not to be moved by it." --Newsday

"Brilliant." --Minneapolis Star-Tribune

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Similar books to this author and title:
Count Us In: Growing Up with Down Syndrome


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Top Member Book Reviews

Peggy D. (atleast10hats) wrote on 10/21/2007...

5 member(s) found this review helpful.

I couldn't put the book down. Utterly fascinating and completely enchanting. Martha Beck is an unbelievably good writer. My "kids" are ages 22 to 32 - so I have long since given up reading expectant mother memoirs....but this one grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I was sorry to get to the end. Highly recommended.

Terri E. (stocktonmalonefan) - Santa Clarita wrote on 8/15/2008...

3 member(s) found this review helpful.

This is by far one of the most beautiful and inspiring books I have read in a very long time. If you are open to believing in miracles and the possibility of unseen guides--you will be uplifted by Martha Becks words. I found that the book reinforced what I have come to believe in. That we all have helpers (unseen spirits) available to us whether we see them or not. That there is meaning in this life and that we are here for a reason--and it ain't to be the best professor at Harvard who believes success is measured in his published articles and scholarly achievements rather than in human relationships and reaching out to individual souls. A beautiful, beautiful story. This one is going on my shelf to keep.

Christie G. (dreambeliever) wrote on 8/30/2006...

3 member(s) found this review helpful.

This book will make you laugh, and cry and make you believe in a power greater than ourselves! Wonderful book!!!

Sarah W. wrote on 2/27/2009...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

A personal account from a Harvard-educated woman as she becomes a mother to a son with Down Syndrome...while she and her husband are caught up in the academia and intellectual elitism of Harvard. Her writing also enters a spiritual realm, as she experiences the presence of angels during her pregnancy and following Adam's birth. Beck's experiences bring a fresh perspective to welcoming and raising a child with a syndrome.

Amie T. (amieTSC) wrote on 4/3/2008...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

I enjoyed this book and found the writing style to be quite readable. My mistake was doing a search on this author and reading an up-to-date biography, which cast a different light on some relationships in which she was involved in this story. (After doing so, I questioned her forthrightness, rather than simply trusting her as an author.) I loved the basis of this memoir, esp. as a woman in her late 30s still considering having children. It helped to quell some of my concerns regarding the increased likelihood of a child with Down syndrome.

April E. (ratpatch) wrote on 7/3/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

love love love this book. A beautiful look at a pregnancy and child that is not pretty in the eyes of society. Describes the path the parents take from being smart to being wise, from success to satisfaction.

"Adam has angels like dogs have fleas...."

Jen Z. (momoftwingles) wrote on 4/16/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

WONDERFUL book! I have three special need children and this was a magical experience... to read another mother's experience through the journey...amazing.

Julianne B. (timekeeper) wrote on 3/21/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

This is a memoir about a woman expecting a Downs Syndrome baby. She retells her spiritual changes from the life of a Harvard student to the life of a mother. Very funny and engaging and moving.

Lindsey G. (LinzluvsGJ) wrote on 3/17/2006...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Wonderful novel about a mother's adjustment to a difficult pregnancy, and finding out that her child has a birth defect. Inspiring and touchable for all parents.

Joann D. (joann0002) wrote on 9/5/2005...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Loved this book, seemed spirtual at times. As a parent I was especially touched.


Please Rate these Book Reviews

Mary B. (booksrfun) wrote on 10/9/2009...


I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has a wonderful way of writing which is hilarious and engaging while also capturing the serious nature and heartbreak of the subject. A true story with difficult to believe events surrounding the pregnancy and birth of her downs sydrome son, Adam.

Dana W. (SouthWestZippy) wrote on 8/21/2009...


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::SPOILER ALERT::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


John and Marsha Beck are expecting their second baby, a baby who has Down Syndrome. Marsha writes about her experiences, concerns and choices she makes before, during and after her pregnancy.
This book has left me with mixed feelings. I enjoyed the read. I found it to be very moving, touching and at times educational.
I also found myself questioning events, the time period of things and choices. I consider myself to be a very open minded person.
I don't question her experience with the angels and her ability have visions and feel the people she loves. The time period of all it happening in just 9 months just not feel truthful. It felt pushed and that fiction parts were added to it to make it more interesting and exciting.
I also question how she handled her pregnancy. If I had even half of this things happening to my body she did I would be in the emergency room or Doctors office to make sure my baby is ok and what I need to do to stop what is happening. Marsha's lack of common sense that deeply troubled me. She could have easily lost that beautiful, precious little one.

I did a little research on this book after I read it. The Author has come forward and confessed that is started off as a fiction book but changed her mind and made it nonfiction. This too left me with questions. Was she afraid no one would take it seriously about the super nature events? The fact all these happen in short amount of time? Is there fact and fictions mixed in the book and she was unsure of how to have it published?

I am not one to reread a lot of books but I will be reading this one. I feel I might have miss or misunderstood something.


Kelli H. wrote on 8/4/2009...


I laughed, I cried....This was an awesome book.

Niki M. wrote on 7/29/2008...


An inspirational read.

Ange R. wrote on 12/29/2005...


pretty good read, fairly spiritual, life lessons and the such.


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