Child of Mine

I'm listening to this fascinating book right now called Far From the Tree (plus some subtitle about identity) by Andrew Solomon. My book club read it a while back, and while I'm sure I have some great excuse for it, the fact is I never read it. So, OF COURSE, at every book club since someone makes some connection to the book. And I totally get it now. 

It's basically about what it's like to be the parent of a child whose horizontal identity marks them as different. I've been astounded by a myriad of details during my listening. Today I learned that some children have actually filed "wrongful life" suits against their parents for, well, giving them life despite knowing about a condition that might make life a struggle. Parents have also sued genetic testers when they've been given misinformation or no information about a genetic condition. What these children and parents must argue in order to win these suits is that they would have preferred that they or their child had never been born. And while that idea makes my heart hurt, the book is so good that it reminds me that I'm not one of those children or parents, and I can't really know what I would feel or do. So, I keep listening and learning. 

If you're interested, you should totally check out this book. Don't be alarmed by the fact that it's like a million pages long. You can choose which chapters you'd like to read. I'm listening to it for the long haul, though. Just 38 more hours to go.