Aidan's Way [Paperback]

Sam Crane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

This life we're given comes in its own season and then follows its vanishing away. If you're at ease in your season, if you can dwell in its vanishing, joy and sorrow never touch you. This is what the ancients called getting free.
--Chuang Tzu

"Aidan's crisis had liberated me in a way. We had come close to death, had looked over the edge of the precipice, and then moved back. He would die at some point, perhaps young, maybe very young. He was profoundly disabled, even more so than he had been before. But his near-death had altered my vision. The length of his life or the physical particulars of his life were not as important as the mere fact of his life itself. He was following along in his own season, moving on the currents of the Way....

I could feel myself starting to get free."
--from Aidan's Way

Sam Crane was unprepared to be the father of Aidan, a boy who would never walk, talk or see. Aidan's Way is an endlessly inspiring account of parental love and devotion, of the lessons of ancient eastern philosophy and of what it means, ultimately, to be human.

"Aidan's Way is the rare personal account that should resonate with any reader....By telling his story simply, beautifully and bravely, Crane challenges us to question the criteria by which we judge everything in this world."-Chicago Tribune

"One of the rare stories about family tragedy: both remarkably perceptive and lacking in self-pity."-Kirkus Reviews

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An Asian studies professor at Williams College, Crane mines his academic field to tell the story of his profoundly disabled son's life, unpacking a grab-bag of Asian philosophy and its relationship to his son's humanity and worth. Despite some excessively formal passages and, alternately, overly emotional, cliche-laden writing, this book will ring true for parents dealing with similar situations. Crane's thesis that "disabled people are not marginal to the human experience; they are central to it, for without them there could be no definition of ability," while not novel, is a stimulating addition to the public debate over the rights of the disabled. Crane's son, Aidan, has suffered from seizures since he was 10 days old, and at age seven he "still could not walk or talk or see. His abilities were closer to those of a three-month-old infant." The author recounts the many years of doctor visits and the frustrations and triumphs he and his wife experience as they attempt to give their child meaningful care, and philosophical discussions of Tao Te Ching and the Book of Changes, as well as other texts, relieve the repetitive litany of seizure episodes and the tedious minute-by-minute descriptions of Aidan's medical care. Parents of the disabled will find much to identify with in this upbeat and hopeful memoir.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This is not the first book by a scholar-father to ponder what it means to raise a special-needs child in an unforgiving world. In Life as We Know It, Michael Berube also asks troubling questions and uses his academic specialty to formulate answers. While Berube relies on his background in history and the philosophy of Western civilization, Crane (Asian studies, Williams Coll.) draws on Eastern philosophy, particularly the Tao Te Ching, to examine how he and his wife cope with the mental and physical disabilities of their first child, Aidan (his condition is unknown). Crane is more conversational than Berube; he describes the technical details of Aidan's condition in the simplest terms, effectively explaining Aidan's various seizures, and he is more positive than Berube. Crane admits great pain and sadness on his part but acknowledges that the world is perhaps a little kinder to our special children than it was in the past. A nice addition to larger parenting, health, and disability collections.
KellyJo Houtz Griffin, Eatonville, WA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402201532
• ISBN-13: 978-1402201530
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,054,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and highly recommended, October 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Aidan's Way: The Story of a Boy's Life and a Father's Journey (Hardcover)

Every now and then a book comes along that wakes us out of our drab routine lives and makes us reevaluate essential questions: what is important? Am I doing something worthwhile with my life? What is life's meaning? Trite as it may sound, "Aidan's Way" does just that, but in a way that is subtle and avoids self-indulgent breast-beating. At its core, "Aidan's Way" is a resounding affirmation of life. Sam and Maureen Crane are the parents of Aidan, who is profoundly retarded mentally--he cannot walk, talk or see. At every turn, they face the possibility that he may die. Pneumonia assaults his lungs and grand mal seizures force him to rely on a feeding tube for sustenance. Adversaries come in human guise as well, with the Cranes heroically combating outrageous abuses by their HMO, doctors stereotyping Aidan as "one of THOSE kids," and a heartbreaking moment of frustration when an indecisive nurse fails to administer a drug in time to stop Aidan's seizures from permanently damaging his already fragile brain. There are heroes, too--a doctor with cerebral palsy who doggedly probes the causes of Aidan's condition while others write him off, a younger sister who brings hope and joy to the family, and countless therapists, journalists, and teachers. Aidan touches hundreds of people. There is even an amusing vignette about Aidan's role in a row involving his father and, of all people, the Singaporean Prime Minister.

Crane's prose is saturated with vivid imagery and he effectively conveys both the heart-rending pain and sheer joy that is Aidan's way. Drawing upon ancient Chinese texts, particularly the Tao Te Ching and the writings of Chuang Tzu, Crane explores the lessons that Aidan offers to all who come in contact with him. We, the readers, follow Crane's journey as he struggles with ideas of science, human worth and purpose, and the dichotomy of active, rational analysis and intervention, and passive being.

All in all, an inspiring book by a talented writer who has obviously poured into his words not only his heart, but also that of his son's.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving book about the power of one child's life, October 18, 2005

By 

Suzanne Amara (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Aidan's Way: The Story of a Boy's Life and a Father's Journey (Hardcover)

This book is not your typical book about a life of a disabled child. There are no miracle breakthroughs for Aidan, not moments of sudden amazing feats, nothing like that. Aidan is profoundly disabled, and that is not really the reason for writing this book. Instead, we are shown how his life, however it might seem to others, has affected his father, his classmates and the community, through his simply being. The author often quotes ancient Chinese writings, which I thought would not really be something I'd want to read, but instead, I found much in them to speak to me. My children attend an inclusion school. There are children in their classes with severe disabilities, and I can say wholeheartedly those children give my children much more than my children give them. This book is also about the power of thinking locally. Aidan brought his father more into his local community, and helped him bring about change for all children. A beautifully written book.