Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon

It's Mother's Day as we record this episode about Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon. This nonfiction book explores the differences that separate children from their parents, often in damaging ways. Solomon believes that parents have children to perpetuate themselves and when the children are different from them, parents often react negatively. Six chapters deal with categories of difference that have been long-classified as illnesses: children who are deaf, those who are dwarfs, and those who have down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, other disabilities. Four chapters deal with more socially-constructed difference: children who: are prodigies, the product of rape, commit crimes, and are transgender.