Down But Not Out: The First 25 Years

Alison J Lane's book is the story of her son, Alex, who has Down's syndrome. Compelling and personal, the reader is taken from the author's struggle to become pregnant to Alex's birth, childhood and adulthood. We get to know Alex, celebrate his achievements with him and share his family's distress at his setbacks. Throughout, we feel the love that his family have for him, a love made all the more poignant by Alex's simple, accepting and loving nature.

No one could fail to be moved by this book, but it is more than one family's story - it offers hope to all with a Down's child. It offers insights into how hurtful those of us with no experience of the condition can be, however unwittingly. It shows how parents and siblings can cope with the prejudice directed against people who 'look different', which is still regrettably pervasive today. It should force us to look at ourselves: Alex is a happy being, with apparently no insight into his condition. It is us who look on people with Down's as being different.

Families of people with Down's will find this book inspirational and comforting, but it has messages for all of us, and deserves to be widely read.