Kelsey Persowich

Kelsey Persowich

Book Review

March 18^th 2014         

The Broken Cord

The Broken Cord, written by Michael Dorris, is a memoir about what life is like adopting and raising a child that was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Adam was adopted at the age of three after he was taken away from his alcoholic parents. His biological father was later incarcerated and his mother later died due to alcohol poisoning. Dorris wrote this book with the hope that by showcasing his struggles as a father with a child that has FAS, he might be able to prevent another FAS child from being born. This book has a strong emphasis on scientific research of FAS and it’s implications that are found on Northern Native American reserves. Overall, I found this book to be light hearted, interesting to read, but very scientific in nature. The amount of facts that are found in the book can be overwhelming at times, though they are very informative.

            Michael opens his book with a foreword written by his wife, Louise. She begins by stating that being part of a family with an FAS child is not always easy. She explains briefly how it was hard to accept that Adam would not be able to grow up to have a normal life. She shares her own struggles with alcohol, and how she wishes there were more intensive programs for pregnant women who also struggle with alcoholism. She wishes to share with readers that FAS is 100% preventable, and no matter how much love you give a child born FAS, they lack motivation, and foreseeing the future.

            In the first few chapters of the book, we are introduced to Michael, at the time a 26 year old, single, Native American man with a masters degree in Anthropology. We learn that he has high hopes of becoming a single father to an aboriginal child. After doing research and going through the adoption process, Adam, a then three year old small child, is brought into Michael’s life. From here, the struggles begin. Michael is given little information about his son’s past life. He knows that he is small for his age and not toilet trained. About his family history, Michael learns that Adam’s biological mother is an alcoholic and his biological father is incarcerated. A few years later, Adam’s biological mother dies due to alcohol related complications. As the years go on, we hear stories about Adam’s struggles with size, body weight, and seizures. During this time, no one is aware that Adam was born with FAS. Through hospital visits due to ill health, Michael becomes more aware that his son has developmental delays, but is not overly concerned with them. After an incident at Adam’s day care, Michael learns that Adam struggles with a learning disability that was not diagnosed before. Because of this reason, Adam gets denied access to a kindergarten program which does not have support systems set up for students with learning disabilities. After this incident, Michael begins to do more research into the effects of alcohol on fetal development, and how this can later affect a growing child.

             

We learn afterwards more about Adam’s life in the school system. Throughout his entire school years, Adam had been passed on from grade to grade with the same comments in his report card. It could be seen that Adam wasn’t able to understand concepts like other students could. He was not able to make change for a dollar, was easily influenced by other students to do mischievous things, and would not weight his actions against their consequences. These results therefore led Adam to become involved in a new school that was more specialized in job placement and daily life skills.

            By the end of the book we learn that Adam, through support systems, gains a job at a local bowling ally and is able to move out of Michael’s home. Though he struggles with taking his anti-seizure medicine, he is able to do simple tasks while supervised like washing dishes, cleaning, and taking out the trash. Michael struggles with the concept that his son will not be able to live a more normal life. Also at the end of the book, Adam himself writes a short chapter talking about his life and the things he has been able to accomplish. I found this last chapter to be the most interesting because it came directly from Adam. Reading from his perspective what his life was like was very interesting. Michael and editors left his writing exactly the way he had written it, unedited and simple, which made it even more interesting to read.

            Overall, I agree with what Michael Dorris is trying to pursue. He believes that through intensive intervention programs, FAS can be prevented, however, the funding for these programs remains to be announced. When faced with drinking during pregnancy, in more modern days it is not acceptable to consume alcohol while pregnant. This in turn makes me wonder why there are still cases of FAS. This book has made me more aware of how FAS can infect a society so deeply that it becomes a social norm more or less. I found my self upset to learn that these children do not have survival instincts that the rest of society may have. They lack motivation and innovation, and do not think about the consequences their actions may have. This in return has led me to wonder why FAS is still a problem in today’s society when there are resources readily available for mothers everywhere. My opinions about FAS have been changed to a more questionable opinion. I find myself to be confused and angry with mothers than drink while pregnant. FAS, as previously stated, is 100% preventable, so why mothers continue to drink boggles my mind. I also find myself wanting to search for answers to these questions and get more involved in FAS prevention. I hope that with this information in hand I can educate myself on prenatal drinking, and therefore educate the others around me.

            Overall, I recommend this book for anyone who wishes to gain a more scientific understanding of what FAS is like, and how it affects communities across the world. This book helps to develop the understanding of FAS in Aboriginal communities, because it uses sources from the community and from professionals. This book is of value for those who are involved in the FAS world, either in their professions or at home. It helps shed light on how complicated it can get when searching for answers to your daily problems. For other readers who are wishing to read a more personalized memoir, this is not the book. This book relies heavily on facts, research, and information straight from the source. Michael, being an Anthropologist himself, has made his work written more for the scholarly reader. However, this book is still a good read for those who are interested in knowing the facts about FAS. It gives readers insight into the work that professionals do on a daily basis, which can help to show how much work goes into helping children and adults with FAS.