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Title: Laughing Allegra: The Inspiring Story of a Mother's Struggle and Triumph Raising a Daughter with Learning Disabilities by Anne Ford, John-Richard Thompson, Melvin D. Levine, Mel Levine ISBN: 1-55704-622-0 Publisher: Newmarket Press Pub. Date: May, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Wonderful
Comment: As a man who grew up with LD, this book hits the mark!
A remarkable woman--Anne Ford!
Rating: 5
Summary: Dignity and Respect
Comment: Anne Ford has written a remarkable book. This is tremendously helpful for all parents that have children with learning disabilities. Also, it is a great lesson that shows the rest of us to reach out to others with love, patience and dignity.
Rating: 5
Summary: I cannot recommend a book more highly than this!
Comment: When a child is born, parents are filled with positive dreams for his or her future. These typically include success in school, supportive friends, good health and a life filled with joy. If the child were a painting, it would have bright colors, sharp focus, every detail in place. But that fairy-tale existence is just that --- a fable. We are imperfect, and so are children.
And then there are families that get an extra helping of imperfection. Instead of dreams, they get challenges which can either pull them together or fracture them. In Anne Ford's case the "perfect world" dream dissolved when she learned that her daughter Allegra had learning disabilities. While they were not visible to the naked eye, what was going on inside Allegra was impeding her development and her ability to learn. It's never easy to accept a dark, definitive verdict, especially when it concerns a small child. To her credit, Anne did. And then she became Allegra's advocate and cheerleader, as well as her mother.
Few books have moved me as much as LAUGHING ALLEGRA. While the story of our family is different from Anne's, I do know what happens when the picture gets blurred. What works about this book is that Anne writes this memoir with candor and feeling --- right from the heart. She captures the swirl of emotion that surrounds this diagnosis, the questions that every parent asks and the path through what is always uncharted territory, as each child is his or her own mosaic. At the same time, she offers concrete information that parents of learning-disabled children need. Most important of all: Anne Ford shows us, beat by beat, how she helped her daughter build a world in which she could laugh instead of cower, succeed instead of fail. She empowered Allegra and along the way empowered herself as well.
The book is by no means whitewashed with only upbeat anecdotes. In her writing you can feel the pain that filled many of these years, as well as the uncertainty. The book took four years to write and along the way Anne had to dredge up some feelings that readers will see are still raw. There is no quick patch when you have watched your child hurting; clearly, she ripped the bandages off to write this.
Often when people learn that things are not "perfect," there is a natural feeling of being overwhelmed with the unknown. For parents who have found themselves either on the cusp of the diagnosis, or grappling with its meaning, or even those who are further along the path and want to read how another family grew with this, I recommend LAUGHING ALLEGRA. I also recommend it for parents of so-called "normal children," who may want to understand rather than dismiss the schoolmate their child knows who is different, or special.
Anne's book stresses that this is a family issue as it affects the entire family. She was a single mother, but also had a son, Alessandro, whose role as Allegra's older brother took him on a journey that he also had not expected. The effect on him is spoken about with enough depth to ensure that readers realize that that all people in the family must grapple with the challenge.
One thing to note here. Allegra is now thirty and living independently. As I read I thought about the great strides that are being made every day in the diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities. Anne and Allegra came to tackle many of the challenges without the tools that are now in place. This, as much of any of Anne's stories, can bring parents great hope.
The back of the book has appendices with list of resources and excellent guidelines on such topics as Questions Parents Ask, Mothers and Fathers Understanding Each Other and Your Legal Rights. They are as well-written as the rest of the book, and provide more nuts and bolts information.
I cannot recommend a book more highly than this. Halfway through I found myself making lists of people who would enjoy it. I encourage you to pick it up --- and then spread the word.
--- Reviewed by Carol Fitzgerald
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Title: Learning Outside The Lines : Two Ivy League Students With Learning Disabilities And Adhd Give You The Tools F by Jonathan Mooney ISBN: 068486598X Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 05 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Reading David: A Mother and Son's Journey Through the Labyrinth of Dyslexia by Lissa, Ph.D. Weinstein, David Siever ISBN: 0399529349 Publisher: Perigee Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Overcoming Reading Problems at Any Level by SALLY MD SHAYWITZ ISBN: 0375400125 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 15 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: I Got A D in Salami (HANK ZIPZER) by Henry Winkler, Lin Oliver, Carol Heyer ISBN: 0448431637 Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: Niagara Falls or Does It? (HANK ZIPZER) by Henry Winkler, Lin Oliver, Carol Heyer ISBN: 0448431629 Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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