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Zusatztext “Lanier’s memoir is now on the short list of books I’ll give, when the time comes, to my own pregnant daughters. It’s not just because a wise woman ought, in this as in all else, to be prepared for disaster even as she hopes for delight. It’s not even because Lanier’s writing is clean and beautiful. . . Lanier shines a clear light on what we sign up for when we allow a human soul to come through us and into the world, in whatever 'interesting and beautiful package' that soul might find. . . [She] teases out the glory, charm and humor of these moments, letting us adore her child with her.” —Kate Braestrup, New York Times Book Review “ Raising a Rare Girl , a memoir by Heather Kirn Lanier, is a remarkable book…I found myself thinking that all expectant and new parents should read it. Lanier’s thoughtful, complex, loving account of raising her daughter Fiona—now 8—who was born with an extremely rare genetic deletion that results in a syndrome called Wolf-Hirschhorn, is a beautiful and hopeful book that is also unflinching about the day-to-day challenges of her family’s life. While every family’s experience of raising a child with disabilities will come with its own specific challenges, Lanier’s ultimate realization that the question to ask herself was not Will my daughter ever walk or talk? but How can I best love her, just as she is?” —Michelle Herman, Slate "This is an intensely reflective and honest account….Readers share moments of anguish, terror, laughter, and triumph, as feisty Fiona grows and conquers milestones in her own unique ways. The book ends as Fiona enters Kindergarten, confident, quirky, and rare, indeed.”— Booklist “Moving and insightful . . . Lanier struggles with the attitudes of physicians and others who regard her daughter as ‘damaged’ and beautifully details her own acceptance. . . This intimate, powerful memoir will resonate with parents, whether of ‘superbabies’ or not.” —Publishers Weekly “Lanier writes with powerful humanity as she charts her course. . . Her abiding love for Fiona is clear throughout, and it’s heartening to watch her learn to reject the idea that disability is deficit. . . A book of pluck, spirit, and great emotion with an appealing perspective on the value of each human life.” —Kirkus Reviews "Heather Lanier has written an exquisite narrative that is full of joy, honesty, and pain, as she details the unexpected change in her life as a new mother when her daughter is born with a rare syndrome. In Raising a Rare Girl, Lanier writes with passion in each line, infusing wisdom in her stunning prose as she shares the most intimate moments of new motherhood. Lanier has created a book that could only be written by someone with the skill of poet and heart of an optimist. And at a time when mothers are expected to be perfect as parents, advocates, professionals, and partners, Lanier redefines the word perfect, and in doing so, teaches us all to find beauty in the necessary imperfections of our lives."— Elizabeth L Silver, author of The Tincture of Time “This gem of a memoir reminds us that when we become parents, we are signing up for the precarious vulnerability of being human. Gorgeously written, and simultaneously as warm and intimate as a conversation with your wisest friend, Raising a Rare Girl is a moving testament to the transcendence of unconditional love.”— Liane Kupferberg Carter, author of Ketchup is My Favorite Vegetable “Heather Lanier has written a brave and beautiful memoir on her journey in early pregnancy as she hoped to create a SuperBaby, and then as she coped with the shocking news that her newborn daughter had been born with a rare syndrome that would require ongoing interventions for walking and talking. Lanier's prose is daz...
