The Shape of the Eye--FREE books!

Okay, folks, I have entered the world of the high-class blogs.  I am going to be giving away two free copies of The Shape of the Eye, a book that I reviewed in 2011 with this high praise:  this is a memoir that doesn't enrage me.

That's actually a big deal.  Most memoirs written by parents of kids with disabilities make me ill for reasons I've explained in extensive academic detail in an article in Disability Studies Quarterly.  I won't go into all of that here.  What I will go into is the fact that George Estreich has written a fine book--a memoir that's thoughtful, loaded with chunky bits of insight that make you pause.  And he's written a book that isn't in any way about the fact that life with his daughter Laura is a tragedy.

He's a creative writer, so he believes in the power of narrative.  Here's a quote that may well appear in my own book:

"If our technologies are to benefit people with Down syndrome, then their lives need to become more real to us.  Science can illuminate one part of that reality, and technology can affect it.  But only story can convey it."

The Shape of the Eye was originally published by a university press, but it's a good enough book--and a readable enough book--that Penguin has picked it up, and it actually got reviewed by People Magazine!  Go, George!  Before he became so famous, George and I became internet friends, and I think that's how I got invited to offer up two free copies of his book.

Soooooo.....the first two people to write something in the comment section that makes me smile will have a book mailed to them.