Biography & Autobiography Medical
Lessons from Jacob
A Disabled Son Teaches his Mother About Courage
- Publisher
- Key Porter Books
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2006
- Category
- Medical, Personal Memoirs, General
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781552638507
- Publish Date
- Oct 2006
- List Price
- $26.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Out of print
This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.
Description
Like any anxious parent awaiting the birth of their first child, Ellen Schwartz and her husband Jeff were overwhelmed with optimistic dreams and hopes about the future. Their future—as a family. Jacob was perfect. Until at about six months they noticed that Jacob seemed oddly withdrawn and unresponsive. Not to worry they were told. Give it some time. With time, however, Jacob seemed only to get worse. After a battery of tests doctors confirmed their worst nightmare: their perfect baby boy had Canavan disease. He would never see. He would never walk. Or talk, or sit up on his own or feed himself. He would never go to school or say “mommy” or “daddy”. Jacob would never be able to do anything for himself. He is utterly helpless. And yet, as Ellen Schwartz recounts in this alternately heartbreaking and exhilarating portrait by a mother of her severely disabled son, Jacob taught—and continues to teach—her and everyone around him what it means to live each day to the fullest. Brave and candid—including the highs and lows, the buoyant hopes and shattering disappointments, the sorrows and joys— Lessons from Jacob is —finally—an unforgettably portrait of a courageous boy who sees past his own disability to embrace the simple and everyday beauty that if life. “…[a] wonderful, moving book…” — The Jewish Tribune “…Schwartz recounts the alternately heartbreaking and exhilarating story of her severely disabled son. [She] tells her son’s story with bravery and honesty, including the highs and lows, the hopes and disappointments.” — North York Mirror
