Far from the Tree

Far from the Tree Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Andrew Solomon comes a stunning, poignant, and affecting young adult edition of his award-winning masterpiece, Far from the Tree, which explores the impact of extreme differences between parents and children.

The old adage says that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, meaning that children usually resemble their parents. But what happens when the apples fall somewhere else--sometimes a couple of orchards away, sometimes on the other side of the world?

In this young adult edition, Andrew Solomon profiles how families accommodate children who have a variety of differences: families of people who are deaf, who are dwarfs, who have Down syndrome, who have autism, who have schizophrenia, who have multiple severe disabilities, who are prodigies, who commit crimes, and more.

Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original and compassionate thinker, Far From the Tree explores how people who love each other must struggle to accept each other--a theme in every family's life. The New York Times calls the adult edition a "wise and beautiful" volume that "will shake up your preconceptions and leave you in a better place."