Rating: 
Summary: A great way to reconnect with the wonder of parenting
Review: Many of the reviews seem to focus on whether or not the angels and other mystical experiences in this book are 'true'. This book reads as though they were true to the author and I think that is all that matters.
However we get there, surely the goal in life is to learn to love, and I read this book as Ms Beck's story of learning to love a child who was not generally considered lovable in the the world in which she lived.
Zealots are zealots whichever side they are on. I too have encountered people who feel the right to choose means you must choose. If we had known our son would have early developmental problems, and had someone then promoted abortion to us, we would likely have perceived some of them to be monsters also. (I find the anti-choice zealots equally distressing, I must add.)
And the people who have helped me to be a better parent are all angels in my book.
For me, this was a book about learning to love your children, whoever and whatever they are. Whatever it takes to achieve that is ok with me.
To paraphrase Pi in 'Life of Pi' - there are 2 stories here, one with angels and one without. The 'truth' cannot be proven. Which one would you rather believe? The answer to that question affects only you.
Finally, reading this book was a refreshing break from day to day life and I came away from it in awe of the magic of motherhood - once again. It's a great read - impossible to stop once you start, which is always fun.
Rating:
Summary: Read the whole thing in one sitting
Review: Martha Beck dubs her tale "A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic" and sets the imagination churning with her wit and wisdom. An account of a Harvard sociology graduate student from Utah who decides not to abort her Down Syndrome baby sounds more like the recipe for a tragedy than a satire, but Beck is full of surprises. For me Beck's book was a witty critique our success-oriented society, on academia, on pretense and on parents. Beck dreads the mindset that leads our society toward perfect babies, perfect students, and perfect breadwinners, and away from perfect content.This story carries you high and low over the hurdles and under the weather with Martha all through her pregnancy. You feel the harsh sting of the truth, the terror of the unknown, and the crumbling of life-long plans. Over and above all else this book is a secret look at one of the ways in which life manages to outwit our calculations. The strong survive because they bend, because they stretch to fit the life that chance throws in their path. Perhaps those of us who plan our life events as though they were dinner parties are really weak, weak because we do not know how to rejoice in the unexpected.
Rating:
Summary: If you've ever loved an exceptional child, read this book.
Review: Maya Angelou once said that "there is no greater agony than holding an untold story inside of you." This piece of work represents Martha Beck's luminous journey towards choosing to mother Adam, her son who was prenatally diagnosed with Down's Syndrome. Like many mothers of exceptional children I've known, Martha has touched on the one theme most of us feel reluctant to talk about--that our lives are peppered with unexplainable, prescient experiences that served to pave our way towards accepting a child that a highly educated world often believes is less than worthy of a chance at life. Because Ms. Beck's Harvard Education and academic's resume brings the reader into a metaphycial journey towards coming to accept Adam through a skeptics eyes, her story seems more credible than that of the average person who sits down to write a book that says "oh, but my child is so much more than what he seems." Martha's tale is as convincing as it is spellbinding. Her range as a writer is vast--she is both a comedian and an accomplished dramatist. Expecting Adam hits its intended mark. It reminds us that every child comes into this world for reasons that often lay beyond the realm of human reckoning. It offers proof that all lives have purpose, meaning and dignity. On top of all this, Expecting Adam offers the reader the benefit of an excellent writer. As the mother of two boys with autism, one who "came back" and one who "didn't", I commend this writer for sharing her story. Ms. Beck's experiences felt universal to me, and true in a way I can't begin to put into words. When I look into my children's eyes, I understand without reservation that nothing is left to chance. Like Ms. Beck, I feel both humbled and awed by the opportunity to mother children like mine. It is impossible to read "Expecting Adam", and fail to see that every life has meaning and dignity. For all things, there is a season...
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