Book Review: A Slant of Sun - One Child's Courage

By Beth Kephart; 249 pages. From the book jacket: "This is a book about a little boy and his mother. It is about a child who against all odds is learning to live in this world, to even, incredibly, make it better."

A personal parenting memoir, this particular mother-and-boy story starts at his birth and runs through the onset of elementary school, with a PDD diagnosis, a search for appropriate services, much soul-searching, a million little toy cars, and a really eccentric green hat along the way.

About the Guide Rating

Personal stories of overcoming heavy odds to help children with special needs are irresistible reading for parents. What a relief to know that others have struggled with the same feelings and issues, to see our own stressful experiences transformed through fine writing into works of reflection and art. No two families are the same, but we often find enough similarities to make us feel a little bit less alone in the world. For any parent who’s ever watched a child line up little toy cars, or perseverate on phrases, or remain solitary in a roomful of children, “A Slant of Sun” will provoke smiles and nods of recognition.

There’s a downside to such stories, though: If those recognizable children follow a different path to a different outcome than your own, it’s easy to feel bad, or sad, or angry. So much about Kephart’s son reminded me of mine, but my guy came nowhere close to ending up “a successful second grader at a country Quaker school.” Intellectually, I know that despite some overlap in their behaviors, their diagnoses were not the same, and a similar developmental path was unlikely. But emotionally, I’m caught: If I had worked more intensively with my boy, chosen different preschool options, fought harder or differently, would he have “won the battle against his genes?” Probably not, but it hurts my heart to wonder.

“A Slant of Sun” is beautifully written and inspirational, if you can avoid the personal second-guessing that may come along with it.

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