Review by Marlene Engel
In the 1940s, when you gave birth to
a child with a severe disability, it wasn’t uncommon to institutionalize the
child. But it still came as a shock to
Margaret, after giving birth to a mongoloid child, to be told that it would be in the best interest of her and her family to immediately place the baby where
she would be housed with others like her … “the retards, mongoloids and
imbeciles.” Although Margaret was
reluctant, she signed the baby over to Poplar Grove (an institution for the mentally handicapped) and trusted that it was the
best choice for everyone.
(Fast forward to the present) Thirty nine year old Marie is married and the
mother of two. Her best friend,
Elizabeth, has been wanting a child for many years. After failed attempts at conceiving and unsuccessful
fertilization procedures, she’s reside to the fact that she may never have a
child of her own. Although she was
adopted, she’s not sure that adoption is the route that she wants to take. But as she continues her struggle with infertility,
Marie finds out that she is once again pregnant. However, she can’t shake the fear that something’s
not right with the baby and decides that doing genetic testing may give her the
answers she needs to clear her mind. But
when she gets the results of the amniocentesis is she prepared for what the
results may be? And how do the lives of women
from different decades connect in this dramatic and captivating novel.
When I was asked if I would be
interested in reviewing this book, I jumped at the offer. It not only sounded like a great story, but I
have been a huge advocate for children with special needs for over 20 years
now! As a mother of a daughter with
special needs, this book hit home for me.
I have to give much praise to the author. The book was well written, the characters
felt so real and she kept my attention from the first page to the last. I absolutely loved this book and absolutely
recommend it to others. This is not only
a must read for parents of special needs children, but for anyone who has faced
struggles in their lives and have fought to overcome them.
Purchase
the book at:
About the Author:
Theresa Shea is a novelist, freelance writer,
University lecturer, and mother living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Her debut
novel, The Unfinished Child, was published to favourable reviews in the spring
of 2013 by Brindle & Glass.
Born in Silver
Spring, Maryland, Shea has lived in Virginia, Japan, Minnesota, and Illinois.
In 1977 she moved to Canada and settled in Edmonton before moving to Jasper,
Montreal, Kingston, and Gibsons Landing on British Columbia’s beautiful
Sunshine Coast. However, the magnetic North keeps drawing her back, and she
currently lives in Edmonton again with her husband, three homeschooled
children, and one golden retriever.
Shea attended
McGill University (BA), Queen’s University (MA), and the University of Alberta
(Ph.D). The Unfinished Child draws on her experience of coming to motherhood
later in life, at the age of 35, and being caught off guard by genetic
counselling, prenatal testing, and the culture of fear surrounding pregnancy.
Currently, she is
working on her second book, a novel set in Washington D.C. that deals with the
civil rights movement in the 1960s.
Connect
with the author at:
