Analysis
This book is the diary of a mother whose child is intellectually or psychologically below average—though, to be honest, the nature of his deficiency is never precisely defined.
We are given every detail of the anguish the child's arrival and presence caused her, and the problems he created within the family. The father plays a marginal role throughout. By contrast, the brothers and sisters emerge as deeply supportive.
Outside educators come into the picture late. And clearly, leaving the child's care to others was always tremendously difficult for this family.
Eventually the boy finds a measure of stability in a protected environment—a partial solution that, by the book's account, yields positive results.
The question of religious education is also addressed in a hopeful light.
Assessment
Taken as a whole, this is an encouraging and affirming work. As testimony, it has genuine value for anyone trying to understand the particular struggles of mothers raising children with developmental differences. The patterns that emerge are recognizable, and parents will find in these pages the kinds of difficulties they themselves face.
The risk of centering everything on the child—beginning with the mother's anxieties, the father's relative absence, the family's fear of the outside world—all of these show up here as characteristic dangers.
Some details could have been spared. We might have wished for deeper exploration of the child's spiritual life and more that would illuminate his inner world.
Ultimately, the simple title captures the book's essence: a dialogue between mother and son.
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