The Shape of Normal
A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability and Embracing a Different Kind of Perfect
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
"Brave and heartbreaking... will resonate with all parents." Jen Pastiloff, author of On Being Human
As a young suburban mother in the early 1980s, Cathy had a loving husband, a sweet toddler, and a vision of life laid out before her. Pregnant for the second time, with twins, she imagined creating the warm, affectionate home she'd craved as a child. Her family would flourish, and she would be the calm, unflappable mother at its center.
But the universe had other plans.
The Shape of Normal explores Cathy's intense denial and devotion as she struggles to face the challenges of raising a girl with cognitive disabilities. Convinced her diagnosis can be undone with just the right amount of single-mindedness, she turns it into a dark prophecy. But she'll have to overcome adversity and learn the lesson of acceptance before realizing her daughter was never broken.
Cathy was never on a hero's journey to save her child. She needed to save herself.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic perspective of a new “norm”
I had never read anything by this author before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Since this isn't my typical reading genre, I'll admit that I wasn't sure whether it would retain my attention, but it was so rewarding. This is a wonderful story about having twins and coming to terms with the possibility that your child doesn't quite match the definition of "normal" in society. There were many parts to this memoir I personally resonated with, which proves that you're not alone with comparable feelings and ideas. As a mother of twins, I can relate to the endless hours of demands from the babies, sleep deprivation, depriving oneself, and the constant worry about if I'm doing things correctly and can I handle this. I remember when my baby B was born with complications during birth and had to be resuscitated. Nineteen hours passed before I could even see him. His twin sister was in constant need throughout that period, so you didn't have time to think about what was going on. I recalled the feelings of judgment and the reason I appeared to be so consumed with tending to the lone twin in my room during his stay in the NICU. My reply was straightforward: he has a team of experts, and I can't provide him what he needs right now. I'm not sure if some people understood that mental control, but I do believe this author would completely understand that mindset. And until he was well and at home, that frame of mind carried me through the most trying hours, days, and weeks! The author would make a fantastic fictional writer because of the amazing job she performed in narrating the truth of her life. I hope to see more from this author. Worth reading, without a doubt.