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UNEXPECTED LESSONS FROM PROFESSOR HIGGINS by Patti Smith

UNEXPECTED LESSONS FROM PROFESSOR HIGGINS

by Patti Smith

Pub Date: Oct. 5th, 2024
ISBN: 9798988982340
Publisher: Self

In this inspirational memoir, a mother joyfully shares what she’s learned from her adult son with Down syndrome.

Smith, a retired lawyer, recalls how raising her child, Christopher, whom she calls “Professor Higgins,” taught her many lessons over the years about how to live a meaningful and loving life. These lessons began, she says, when Christopher received his diagnosis of the genetic disorder trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, as a newborn in 1978; in the face of doctors’ overwhelming negativity, she says, she learned to “trust [herself] and rely on [her] intuition” to do what was best for her son. The book roughly follows Christopher’s life story in chronological order, charting his adolescence and adulthood to the present day in chapters named for each lesson. In “Tapping Out: Finding Happiness in Acceptance,” for example, she learns the value of surrender through accepting Christopher’s love of World Wrestling Entertainment events, and in “Patience is Unconditional Love,” she learns that living at her son’s “slow pace” has taught her patience. Throughout, the author upliftingly shares valuable insights, such as, “I’ve learned how forgiveness can transform the giver even more than the receiver because it opened space in my life for more love.” However, the memoir glosses over important events, including two divorces and the adoption of her deceased sister’s children; she also only briefly mentions her father, who was a U.S. Marine, and her religious faith, and doesn’t address their impact on her or her son’s lives in any detail. She also refers to her two daughters only in passing: “To their credit, my young girls grew up quickly and without complaint about how much I relied on them.” By the end of her book, readers will be glad to have an underrepresented and joyful perspective on raising a child with Down syndrome. However, they may wish that the memoir had a broader scope.

An often engaging, if slightly uneven, remembrance with moving scenes and inspirational advice.