Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

Martha and John Beck were both doctoral candidates at Harvard when they found out that their second child would be born with Down Syndrome. This memoir details Martha’s painful struggle with the news that her child would be born “defective,” and the many tumultuous events that took place (including a car accident and an apartment fire) to strengthen her preservation of this baby’s life. Also, Adam turned out to be a great source of enlightenment. I could have done without all the new age spirituality, but it was honest. The heartwarming bond of pain and support between Martha and her husband produced a significant emotional response in me. (Stupidly, I Googled them after I finished the book and found out they had been divorced for over ten years. Perhaps there are no real love stories in the non-fiction section after all.) Favorite Quote: “the immediacy and joy with which he lives his life make rapacious achievement, Harvard-style, look a lot like quiet desperation. Adam has slowed me down to the point where I notice what is in front of me, its mystery and beauty . . . Adam takes his joy straight up.”