Rating: 
Summary: Little People by Dan Kennedy
Review: A well-written and interesting look at the human side of dwarfism, including dwarfism's repercussions to the individual and family members. Author Dan Kennedy has made a concerted effort to include as many facets of dwarfism as possible, things that others can never know without reading a book like this. This book is not just for little people themselves and families involved with dwarfism, but doctors and other healthcare professionals, teachers, therapists, and anyone interested in learning more about the strength of the human spirit. A very engaging and worthwhile book!
Rating:
Summary: Little People by Dan Kennedy
Review: A well-written and interesting look at the human side of dwarfism, including dwarfism's repercussions to the individual and family members. Author Dan Kennedy has made a concerted effort to include as many facets of dwarfism as possible, things that others can never know without reading a book like this. This book is not just for little people themselves and families involved with dwarfism, but doctors and other healthcare professionals, teachers, therapists, and anyone interested in learning more about the strength of the human spirit. A very engaging and worthwhile book!
Rating:
Summary: An open and honest memoir and social commentary
Review: Dan Kennedy author grapples honestly and agonizingly with the conflict between our culture of diversity, the reality of disability, and every parent's wish for a healthy typical child. With its intertwining of memoir and social commentary, it is at once a captivating and enlightening read skillfully crafted by award wining journalist Dan Kennedy.
The author's purpose is to find purpose and meaning in his daughter's life. He was determined for it to be positive and upbeat. Meanwhile his wife was more focused on her daughter's day to day care including the medical crisis of her early life when Becky was near death and required a tracheotomy to survive. The author's honest acknowledgment of these divergent viewpoints is but one example of his penetrating insight into the complexities of his family life.
The reader is challenged to consider the contrast between genetic difference and genetic defect in a society which says that differences are good and defects are bad. Can one person's defect be another person's difference? What are the moral and ethical implications of eliminating differences ranging from dwarfism to Down syndrome and beyond to manic depression, homosexuality, etc. through designer genetics? What will be the impact upon society? Kennedy explores dwarfism from ancient times, when dwarfs were revered in some cultures, to modern eras where they were featured in freak shows and treated as guinea pigs by Nazi scientists. Through a historical perspective he helps the reader to grasp that there has never been a better time to be outside the mainstream and to embrace one's identity-whether one is physically or mentally challenged or gay. Yet most parents do not wish these differences for their children, and the Kennedys would not have chosen dwarfism for their daughter.
The disability consciousness of our present era sprang to life in the second half of the twentieth century on the ashes of Dachau and Auschwitz, where millions of Jews, homosexuals, and people with disabilities were exterminated. As an antidote to American self-righteousness, the author reminds us of the eugenics movement which was led by the United States and Great Britain in the early part of the twentieth century and mandated the sterilization of people with mental retardation and mental illness. The Nazis of course took this a giant step further because there was no respect for individual rights or checks and balances to keep eugenic impulses at least in some control.
Throughout the book, Kennedy helps us to visit his conundrum where he is held in the grip of two opposing ideas-that, on the one hand, his child is imperfect and different and will always be, while on the other hand, Becky is perfect just as she is. As the parent of an adult child with autism, I understand Kennedy's dilemma all to well. It is a Rubik's cube for a society that includes and celebrates differences-where the solutions to the puzzle are individual and unique. Through his involvement with the Little People of America and his vivid accounts of interviews with numerous adult dwarfs, Kennedy leads his reader to a deeper appreciation for diversity.
As a fellow parent and writer, what I value most about Little People is the author's openness and integrity in looking at the hard facts of his family's life. He does not escape for long into the world of intellect and social commentary. He does not deny how hard it can be to care for the needs of a sick child, particularly on his wife, Barbara, who he observes to have some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder even years after Becky could breathe on her own. As a father, when he tells Becky, that there is nothing wrong with being a dwarf, it doesn't ring true for her. Her differences are a problem for her in navigating the world such as when younger children don't believe she is older than them or when she imagines who will want to date her. So there are no easy answers, no platitudes to hide behind-Kennedy is left with the simple and profound challenge to just be the best father he can for Becky. And his readers are left with a dose of compassion and shared wisdom.
Robert Naseef, Ph.D. is a psychologist specializing in families of children with special needs in the Philadelphia area and on the Internet at www.specialfamilies.com. He is the author of Special Children, Challenged Parents: The Struggles and Rewards of Raising a Child With a Disability (2001, Brookes Publishing)
Rating:
Summary: Little People
Review: Dans book is a must read for anyone with an interest in Dwarfism, be it a family member, friend or collegue or just a general interest. There is something for everyone, the heartfelt journey of Dan`s daughter, Becky as she spends her early years hooked to machines due to her achondroplasia and her growth into a young woman continues throughout, and inbetween the reader is introduced to other topics relating to dwarfism including the history of dwarfism, the Little People of America, Medical Doctors, Religious questioning to name a few.
I found it hard to put the book down once I had started to read it. As an average height parent with a child with achondroplasia myself I found the book a very valuable read and I learnt a lot, the book also leads the way for further research if one so wishes.
Rating:
Summary: A big appreciation from a Little Admirer!
Review: For once we have a book which is extremely positive and respectful to people of Short Stature. It has to appeal to both small statured people and ESPECIALLY to parents of small statured children. Reading Dan's account of his own daughter's trauma (and his own!) in her early years, makes one appreciate life! He then develops a book, second to none, about all manner of issues related to dwarfism, both now and in history. It HAS to be a book for everyone to read! Gripping from beginning to end, and at the end, the reader can't help but be extremely well informed about Small Statured People. Dan has a winner on his hands, which HAS to be on everyone's "Must Have" list for Christmas! Well done Dan, and good luck to all who read this book!
Rating:
Summary: A big appreciation from a Little Admirer!
Review: For once we have a book which is extremely positive and respectful to people of Short Stature. It has to appeal to both small statured people and ESPECIALLY to parents of small statured children. Reading Dan's account of his own daughter's trauma (and his own!) in her early years, makes one appreciate life! He then develops a book, second to none, about all manner of issues related to dwarfism, both now and in history. It HAS to be a book for everyone to read! Gripping from beginning to end, and at the end, the reader can't help but be extremely well informed about Small Statured People. Dan has a winner on his hands, which HAS to be on everyone's "Must Have" list for Christmas! Well done Dan, and good luck to all who read this book!
Rating:
Summary: A real gem of a book
Review: I found Dan Kennedy's story about the joys and challenges of his daughter's life to be honest, compelling and thought-provoking. It's one thing to be born into a minority group with the support of a family that has had the same experiences. But Kennedy has the unique task of helping his daughter navigate her way through a world that sees her much differently than it sees him. At its heart, this is about the hopes, fears, and anxieties that come with raising children. Like any father, Kennedy worries about Becky's future, about her place in the world. As the parent of a dwarf, he also has to learn about life-threatening illnesses and physical limitations, deal with the health-care bureaucracy, and respond to the awkward questions of strangers. In the end, he writes, "What's truly meaningful is to be the best parent you can be." But this is more than simply a memoir about parent and child. I like the way Kennedy alternates chapters about Becky with a history of dwarfism, genetic testing and how society's attitude toward the disabled has evolved. We meet other little people and learn their life stories in a very engaging, conversational way. As Kennedy says, the disabled "are perhaps the last group to embrace its difference as a source of empowerment, even pride ..."
Little People is totally captivating and will stay with you long after you've finished it.
Rating:
Summary: A real gem of a book
Review: I found Dan Kennedy's story about the joys and challenges of his daughter's life to be honest, compelling and thought-provoking. It's one thing to be born into a minority group with the support of a family that has had the same experiences. But Kennedy has the unique task of helping his daughter navigate her way through a world that sees her much differently than it sees him. At its heart, this is about the hopes, fears, and anxieties that come with raising children. Like any father, Kennedy worries about Becky's future, about her place in the world. As the parent of a dwarf, he also has to learn about life-threatening illnesses and physical limitations, deal with the health-care bureaucracy, and respond to the awkward questions of strangers. In the end, he writes, "What's truly meaningful is to be the best parent you can be." But this is more than simply a memoir about parent and child. I like the way Kennedy alternates chapters about Becky with a history of dwarfism, genetic testing and how society's attitude toward the disabled has evolved. We meet other little people and learn their life stories in a very engaging, conversational way. As Kennedy says, the disabled "are perhaps the last group to embrace its difference as a source of empowerment, even pride ..."
Little People is totally captivating and will stay with you long after you've finished it.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone
Review: I have not identified more with an author as I have with Dan Kennedy. As a little person, I found that Dan was right on the mark in his documentation of the way society view little people. His historical details also covered a wide range of societies treatment of dwarfs, from the dwarfs who were respected and admired in ancient times, to the chilling horrors of WWII Germany.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone
Review: I have not identified more with an author as I have with Dan Kennedy. As a little person, I found that Dan was right on the mark in his documentation of the way society view little people. His historical details also covered a wide range of societies treatment of dwarfs, from the dwarfs who were respected and admired in ancient times, to the chilling horrors of WWII Germany.
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