How do parents cope with children who are different?
Not just different from them, but different from whats considered quote-unquote normal?
That was the question asked by author and psychologist Andrew Solomon in his 1,000-page 2012 bestsellerFar From the Tree.
Credit: Sundance Selects
The first child we meet isnt a child at all.
His name is Jason and hes a 41-year-old with Down syndrome.
Such a cruel fate never entered her mind.
Still, she struggles.
Jason obsessively watches and rewatchesFrozenand wants to travel to Norway to meet Elsa.
Next, is teenage Jack.
At 2 years old, Jack began to display signs of severe autism.
He was unable to speak (he still cant as a teenager) and would throw violent tantrums.
Jacks mother tells the camera with tears in her eyes that, at first, she blamed herself.
He just couldnt express it.
With the help of a computer, he can now communicate.
The moment this first happened appears in the film and it will reduce you to tears.
Says his mother, It was like I was meeting him for the first time.
With a thousand-watt smile, she says how good she feels to have finally found her tribe.
The last person we meet is Trevor even if we dont actually meet him at all.
Trevor was arrested as a teenager for murdering an 8-year-old boy.
While their struggle is enormous and horrible, this section seems slightly out of place next to the others.
All of the families inFar From the Treeare compelling their trials unimaginable and their spirits indomitable.
Youll want to have a box of Kleenex handy.
What other choice do they have?B+
