{"product_id":"2940170460977","title":"Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic","description":"\"He says you'll never be hurt as much by being open as you have been by remaining closed.\"\u003cp\u003eThe\u003cbr\u003e messenger is a school janitor with a master's in art history who claims\u003cbr\u003e to be channeling \"from both sides of the veil.\" \"He\" is Adam, a \u003cbr\u003ethree-year-old who has never spoken an intelligible word. And the \u003cbr\u003emessage is intended for Martha Beck, Adam's mother, who doesn't know \u003cbr\u003ewhether to make a mad dash for the door to escape a raving lunatic \u003cbr\u003e(after all, how many conversations like this one can you have before you\u003cbr\u003e stop getting dinner party invitations and start pushing a mop \u003cbr\u003eyourself?) or accept another in a series of life lessons from an \u003cbr\u003eimpeccable but mysterious source.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the moment Martha and her \u003cbr\u003ehusband, John, accidentally conceived their second child, all hell broke\u003cbr\u003e loose. They were a couple obsessed with success. After years of \u003cbr\u003ematching IQs and test scores with less driven peers, they had two \u003cbr\u003eHarvard degrees apiece and were gunning for more. They'd plotted out a \u003cbr\u003efuture in the most vaunted ivory tower of academe. But the dream had \u003cbr\u003ebegun to disintegrate. Then, when their unborn son, Adam, was diagnosed \u003cbr\u003ewith Down syndrome, doctors, advisers, and friends in the Harvard \u003cbr\u003ecommunity warned them that if they decided to keep the baby, they would \u003cbr\u003elose all hope of achieving their carefully crafted goals. Fortunately, \u003cbr\u003ethat's exactly what happened.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eExpecting Adam\u003c\/span\u003e is a poignant,\u003cbr\u003e challenging, and achingly funny chronicle of the extraordinary nine \u003cbr\u003emonths of Martha's pregnancy. By the time Adam was born, Martha and John\u003cbr\u003e were propelled into a world in which they were forced to redefine \u003cbr\u003eeverything of value to them, put all their faith in miracles, and trust \u003cbr\u003ethat they could fly without a net. And it worked.\u003c\/p\u003eMartha's \u003cbr\u003eriveting, beautifully written memoir captures the abject terror and \u003cbr\u003eexhilarating freedom of facing impending parentdom, being forced to \u003cbr\u003equestion one's deepest beliefs, and rewriting life's rules. It is an \u003cbr\u003eunforgettable celebration of the everyday magic that connects human \u003cbr\u003esouls to each other.","brand":"Tantor Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47178705109232,"sku":"2940170460977","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170460977_p0.jpg?v=1763804593","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170460977","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}