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A Story of Unexpected Joy
Harper
April 2011
On Sale: April 19, 2011
304 pages
ISBN: 0061690279
EAN: 9780061690273
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Memoir
Priscilla Gilman had the greatest expectations for the birth
of her first child. Growing up in New York City amongst
writers, artists, and actors, Gilman experienced childhood
as a whirlwind of imagination, creativity, and spontaneity.
As a Wordsworth scholar, she celebrated and embraced the
poet's romantic view of children—and eagerly anticipated her
son's birth, certain that he, too, would come "trailing
clouds of glory." But her romantic vision would not be
fulfilled in the ways she dreamed. Though Benjamin was an
extraordinary child, the signs of his precocity—dazzling
displays of memory and intelligence—were also manifestations
of a developmental disorder that would require intensive
therapies and special schooling, and would dramatically
alter the course Priscilla had imagined for her family. In The Anti-Romantic Child, a memoir full of lyricism and
light, Gilman explores the complexity of our hopes for our
children, our families, and ourselves, and the way in which
experience can alter and lead us to reimagine those hopes
and expectations. Using Wordsworth's poetry as a touchstone,
she speaks intimately of her poignant journey through crisis
and disenchantment to a place of peace and resilience.
Through her courageous account, we discover how events and
situations often perceived as setbacks can actually inspire
and enrich us. Developing a supple and open mind is
important, this book reminds us, not only with respect to
our children but also with respect to our relationship with
any person whose otherness is at first disorienting. As she
goes beyond her family's trials and ultimate triumphs,
Gilman illuminates the flourishing of life that occurs when
we embrace the unexpected. The Anti-Romantic Child is an
incredible synthesis of memoir and literature, one that
resonates long after you finish the last page.
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