Overview

What happens when love is no longer enough? Jane Bernstein thought that learning to accept her daughter’s disabilities meant her struggles were over. But as Rachel grew up and needed more than a parent’s devotion, both mother and daughter were confronted with formidable obstacles. Rachel in the World, which begins in Rachel’s fifth year and ends when she turns twenty-two, tells of their barriers and successes with the same honesty and humor that made Loving Rachel, Bernstein’s first memoir, a classic in its field. The linked accounts in part 1 center on family issues, social services, experiences with caregivers, and Rachel herself--difficult, charming, hard to fathom, eager for her own independence. The second part of the book chronicles Bernstein’s attempt to find Rachel housing at a time when over 200,000 Americans with mental retardation were on waiting lists for residential services. As Rachel prepares to leave her mother’s constant protection, Bernstein invites the reader to share the frustrations and unexpected pleasures of finding a place for her daughter, first in her family, and then in the world.

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9780252076824

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Reviews

Refreshingly unsentimental, wrenchingly candid sequel to the author's previous memoir about her developmentally challenged daughter, Loving Rachel (1988)...A bracing testimony--not at all self-flattering--to parental love and advocacy. Kirkus Reviews One of the most extraordinary, awful, funny, candid, heartrending, brave books about motherhood I've ever read. Sandra Tsing Loh, Barnes & Noble Review An unsentimental yet inspiring story of unshakable mother love. Library Journal A tough, honest ... account. It's a book I have been looking for, a road map for the years ahead. Houston Chronicle

Author Information

Jane Bernstein, a professor of English and creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University, is the author of Loving Rachel: A Family's Journey from Grief, Bereft--A Sister's Story, and other books. For more, visit www.janebernstein.net.

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