Monday, April 1, 2013

A is for Alex, the Life of a Child


(For the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge, I will be featuring one book each day, that begins with that day's letter, that made an impression on me.  This means that for some reason, I didn't just read that book and forget about it.  No, I still think about it after some period of time has passed.) 

Title:  Alex, the Life of a Child
Author: Frank Deford
Original Publication Date: 1983
Date I First Read: 1987
Basic Category: Nonfiction / Memoir / Tearjerker

Basic Summary: Alex’s father recounts her life and death.

What I Remember About the Book: I remember most about learning about cystic fibrosis and how it works.  I was just about 12 when I read this, about a year or so after the TV movie aired.  The movie made me sob, and the book was no different.  For some reason, the part of the book that stands out most in my memory now is when the author described his daughter in the hospital when she was very young, when she was being diagnosed.  I was in the living room of the house we lived in, and sitting in my favorite chair while reading that part.   I also remember how the author described his daughter's clubbed fingers.   At the time, I had no idea what this looked like, and there was no Internet to look it up.  

What I Took Away From the Book:  How genetics generally work. If both parents have the recessive gene for cystic fibrosis for instance, then each one of their biological children have a 25% of having the disease.  This knowledge came in very handy in high school biology a couple of years later.

Rating (1-5 stars):  4.5 stars – I was an impressionable tween.  I also had no idea that my first child would die of complications from his birth defects.  It was not related to genetics (that we know of.)  I also had no idea that I would see what clubbed fingers looked like in real life on my own baby.  

13 comments:

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

Thanks for sharing that "A" post. Sorry to hear at the end of the post about your child. I can see how the book is very meaningful to you.

Keep Calm and A-Z
An A-Z of learning English
Round the world from A to Z

Mary Kirkland said...

Thanks for the heads up on the book.

Anonymous said...

What a great start!
Looking forward to more :)

martine said...

Hi, visiting from the A to z. Like you theme and will pop back to read about some more of your favourite books.

Donna L Martin said...

Good luck with the challenge! These are the types of posts that touch my heart and really connect with me. I participated last year and had a blast!

Donna L Martin
www.donasdays.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Hi! I am always on the look-out for good reads and I'm looking forward to all your recommendations this week.

Unknown said...

I had to laugh that the first other blog in the A to Z Challenge that I visited also wrote about Alex as their topic! I'm an adult urban fantasy author and Alex is the main character of my series. Too funny. Anyway, best of luck with the rest of the month!

Daniel B. (@publiusdb) said...

I like your style. A good combination of what to expect and your own personal reaction to the book.

Best of luck with A to Z!

Laeli said...

I remember this book. I sobbed as well. I had no idea people in the world suffered so...

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'm heard of this book and movie. It sounds very emotional.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Thank you for shring your personal story. I can't imagine how heartbreaking that must have been.

The Sunday Visitor said...

Nice choice of topic for the A-Z Challenge. I look forward to your posts :)

Trisha said...

I haven't read this, but it sounds rather heart-rending!

I recently-ish read a book by a father who had lost his 3-year-old daughter in a freak accident. That was horrible but also a beautiful read.