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.
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.
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!!!
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...."
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.
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.
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.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Loved this book, seemed spirtual at times. As a parent I was especially touched.