About the Author

Rachel Adams is professor of English and American studies at Columbia University, where she is also director of the Future of Disability Studies Project. She is the author of Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination. Adams lives with her husband and two sons in New York City.

Reviews

"An important, hopeful book."-Susannah Meadows, New York Times -- Susannah Meadows * New York Times *
"In this quietly moving memoir, Adams writes about coming to terms with her son's diagnosis, education, limitations, and identity. . . . Generous and honest."-Boston Globe * Boston Globe *
"We learn from Adams what it means to have a son very different from most others in mind and body, whose future is uncertain, but whose life is infused with love and so worth living."-Jerome Groopman, New York Review of Books -- Jerome Groopman * New York Review of Books *
"Powerful, poignant, and persuasive."-Glenn Altschuler, Psychology Today: This is America blog -- Glenn Altschuler * Psychology Today, This is America blog *
"In her luminous memoir . . . Adams writes about how the birth of her son changed everything, and, at the same time, brought her back to the beginnings of a journey that had been long in the making."-Sarah Torretta Klock, New York Family Magazine -- Sarah Torretta Klock * New York Family Magazine *
"This is a terrific book-gorgeously written, beautifully realized."-Michael Berube, author of Life as We Know It: A Father, a Family, and an Exceptional Child -- Michael Berube
"...this book is a composite of the challenges and enjoyments of the first few years of a child with special needs and the family....very useful for parents, family members, but also professionals including physicians, nurses, therapists, and genetic counselors."-Fran Hickey, M.D., Director of the Sie Center for Down Syndrome, Colorado Children's Hospital -- Fran Hickey
"Adams succeeds in the difficult task of rendering intensely personal material in a way that makes any reader reflect on larger cultural questions...This book should be mandatory reading for all medical students, especially those entering the fields of obstetrics and gynecology."-Georgina Kleege, author of Sight Unseen and Blind Rage: Letters to Helen Keller -- Georgina Kleege
"Rachel Adams' Raising Henry: A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability, and Discovery is a must-read, moving, thought-provoking, important. I highly recommend."-Jon Colman, President, National Down Syndrome Society -- Jon Colman
"Raising Henry is not just a forthright and poetic family chronicle; it is a provocative exploration of Down syndrome, disability, and what it means to be human. Adams is feisty, compassionate, and brilliant."-Penny Wolfson, author of Moonrise: One Family, Genetic Identity and Muscular Dystrophy -- Penny Wolfson
"With extraordinary eloquence and breathtaking honesty, Rachel Adams has allowed us to share every intimate moment of the profound journey of parenting her son Henry. I found myself savoring every beautifully chosen word. This is a remarkable memoir!"-Emily Perl Kingsley, author of "Welcome to Holland" and Writer, Sesame Street -- Emily Perl Kingsley
"Characterized by a poignant honesty and great integrity, probing intelligence and nuanced thinking, this is a wise, admirable, illuminating book."-Priscilla Gilman, author of The Anti-Romantic Child: A Story of Unexpected Joy -- Priscilla Gilman
"Rachel Adams brings us along on her personal journey, and, along the way, we all discover that exceptionality is not ultimately defined by our genetic beginnings."-Brian Skotko, M.D., M.P.P., Co-Director, Down Syndrome Program, Massachusetts General Hospital -- Brian Skotko
"Rachel Adams has a novelist's eye for story and a scholar's contextual insight. She's not afraid to document how she changes as events in her life take place, and thus, as her son grows, we see her grow as well."-Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of Somebody's Daughter -- Marie Myung-Ok Lee
"In this moving, literary book, Adams . . . shares the story of her second son, Henry, born with Down syndrome . . . The book is filled with wonderful anecdotes portraying Henry in all his lovability. And it raises important questions about now-routine genetic testing to identify chromosomal abnormalities."-Booklist * Booklist *
Winner of the 2014 Delta Kappa Gamma Society's Educator's Award. -- Educator's Award * The Delta Kappa Gamma Society *