Normal: a mother and her beautiful son

Description

Normal. Who is to say what this word means? For Magda Newman, it was a goal. She wanted her son Nathaniel to be able to play on the playground, swim at the beach, enjoy the moments his friends took for granted. But Nathaniel's severe Treacher Collins syndrome-- a craniofacial condition-- meant that other concerns came first. But Nathaniel looks at 'normal' from a completely different perspective. Here, mother and son tell the story of their family-- from Nathaniel facing sixty-seven surgeries before the age of fifteen, to making friends, moving across the country, and persevering through hardships. -- adapted from jacket;"A moving memoir from the mother of a child with Treacher Collins Syndrome, with a foreword by R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder"--;Foreword by R.J. Palacio -- I. A beautiful baby boy : -- Beautiful -- Congratulations -- The first twenty-eight days -- To eat -- To breathe -- A different world -- Not cut out for this -- To eat, to speak -- To hear -- Division of labor -- II. A normal childhood : -- A house of our own -- Bad luck -- Casseroles and pity -- We've got this -- Teaching and being taught -- The new me -- Shallow water -- Good Christian neighbors -- A marathon, not a sprint -- III. Wonder : -- A "real-life" Auggie -- The boy from the Wonder book -- Reno -- Hollywood -- IV. The big one : -- A unique form of torture -- A dog angel -- Complicated complications -- Muscle memory -- A new face -- Two wonders meet -- Made whole again -- Gift from God -- A new normal -- The "real" Wonder boy -- Gratitude -- Afterword: swimming like a fish.