Babyface: A Story of Heart and Bones - Hardcover

McDermott, Jeanne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1890627151 ISBN 13: 9781890627157

Publisher: Woodbine House, 2000

Synopsis

The mother of a child born with Apert syndrome recounts her life raising a child with this disfiguring syndrome.

About this title

From the Publisher:

A Review...

"Babyface is yet another book that is not ostensibly written about hope. But it also is about promising new treatments-in this case, Apert syndrome, a rare genetic, craniofacial condition.

There is much more than that here, however, as evidenced in this commentary on McDermott's description of her marriage and how it was buffeted by the challenge of dealing with a child who has a genetic disease.

'No one completely understands the workings of another person's soul,' writes McDermott, a science journalist. 'But Ted and I would never give up trying, and this tenacity helped us preserve the contagious madness of love at a time when other drifted apart.'

McDermott's literary memoir recounts the harrowing succession of surgeries her son, Nathaniel, underwent to treat his condition.

Apert's often causes a malformation of the skull and deformities of the hands and feet.

Hers is 'a love story brought together through difficult circumstances,' said McDermott, now a science teacher in Boston. 'I hope this book resonates with and offers hope to anyone who struggles with some unexpected turn in life.'" --Grand Rapids Press (10/19/00)

"'In the hourless depth of the night... I grieved for the dreambaby who had died and loved the one who had been born.' In Babyface: A Story of Heart and Bones Jeanne McDermott tells of her life with the life of her second son, Nathaniel, born at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital with Apert syndrome, a rare craniofacial condition. McDermott, who has written for Smithsonian, Horticulture, and The Wall Street Journal, writes with scientific metaphor in describing aspects surrounding his life: 'lost in seaweed of tubes' and 'mission control equipment.'

The book discusses fundamental beliefs about difference and beauty; it also provides insight and inspiration to families." --ForeWord Magazine

About the Author:

Jeanne McDermott, a science journalist and author of The Killing Winds: The Menace of Biological Warfare, has written for Smithsonian, Popular Science, Horticulture, Wall Street Journal, and other publications. She was a Knight Fellow in the Public Understanding of Science and Technology at MIT. Currently a science teacher at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she and her family live in the greater Boston area.

About this edition

• Publisher: Woodbine House
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1890627151
• ISBN 13: 9781890627157
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 261