Synopsis
Shares the experiences of parents raising mentally handicapped children, tells how they learned their children were retarded, and discusses the placement of adult children
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From Publishers Weekly
The mother of a retarded child, Mantle writes of her own and other parents' experiences as they deal with the pain, confusion and sense of loss that changes their lives. What the presence of a mentally retarded child means in a family, how a marriage is affected and the relations with other siblings are told in terms of the dissolution of Mantle's first marriage and the problems of her second, and echoed in the accounts of others recorded in this candid, straightforward memoir. We learn of love that cannot be separated from anger and despair, of bleak societal milieus but also of the possibility of choice and options for special children of all ages. Mantle, a journalist, and her first husband, a wire-service photographer, lived with their retarded child in Moscow, Buenos Aires, Chicago. The author traces her ultimate attainment of a kind of peace, finds a possible answer to "Why me?" in relating the story of her daughter Victoria, now 18, and thereby enlightens us all. December 5
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Primarily made up of firsthand accounts by the parents of retarded young adults, this book is also the author's effort to come to terms with her adolescent daughter's retardation. Like her, other parents referred to in the book have retarded children and normal siblings. Most of the accounts begin at birth, painfully depicting the early months when parents first realized something was wrong, and chronicling to adolescence or adulthood the family stress and pain. Mantle had to adjust to her daughter's placement in a group home at 16. Besides a thoughtful, close-up view of retardation, this candid book provides a realistic look at the struggle retardees' families endure: guilt, divorce, jealousy, stigmatization, financial loss, anxiety. While the book could have benefited from tighter editing, it will be valuable for large public libraries and collections in special education and child development. Kay Webb O'Connell, Everett P.L., Wash.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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