Books › Far From the Tree
Far From the Tree
962 pages
A monumental, deeply empathetic exploration of how families navigate profound differences, ultimately revealing the radical power of unconditional love.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting with a profoundly wise, endlessly patient listener who is guiding you through the most difficult and beautiful aspects of human existence. It is a heavy, monumental work, requiring a steady pace to absorb the sheer weight of the interviews and the emotional toll of the subjects, yet the experience never feels bleak. Instead, the atmosphere is one of radical empathy and hard-won grace. The prose is elegant and deeply philosophical, seamlessly weaving intimate family portraits into a grand, sweeping tapestry of the human condition. It will deeply move readers who are drawn to narrative nonfiction that challenges their preconceptions and expands their capacity for compassion, leaving them forever changed by its quiet, enduring warmth.
- Mood
- reflective
- intimate
- heavy yet hopeful
- profound
- Tone
- compassionate
- philosophical
- earnest
- journalistic
- empathetic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- radical acceptance · the meaning of family · identity versus illness · parental love and sacrifice · the spectrum of human difference
- The writing
- Elegantly structured and deeply humane, blending rigorous journalistic inquiry with lyrical, philosophical reflection.
- The arc
- Moves from the isolating shock of profound difference toward a hard-won, expansive understanding of universal human connection.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave deep, empathetic explorations of psychology, sociology, and the complex realities of family dynamics.
Content notes
- ableism
- medical trauma
- sexual assault
- severe mental illness
- violent crime
About the book
Solomon’s startling proposition in Far from the Tree is that being exceptional is at the core of the human condition—that difference is what unites us. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down's syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, or multiple severe disabilities; with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, and who are transgender. While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, and Solomon documents triumphs of love over prejudice in every chapter.
All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent should parents accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves. Drawing on ten years of research and interviews with more than three-hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges.
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.
Description from Open Library.
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