Running with Walker: A Memoir [Paperback]

Robert Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2003

By the time he was three, Walker's parents were concerned enough about his delayed development to consult a paediatric neurologist. Doctors diagnosed autism and issued a grim prognosis: 'I hold out no hope for this child'. But they hadn't accounted for Walker's intelligence, affection, and sense of humour - or for the remarkable bonds that grew within his family.

Walker's father, Robert Hughes, tells a touching and inspiring story of discovering that their 'perfect little boy had a problem'. With disarming honesty and humour, the book tells how a family copes and keeps hope alive despite the staggering difficulties autism presents.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Running With Walker is the witty and insightful story of another, the first-born son of author Robert Hughes, a Chicago college professor. Hughes describes the mounting terror he and his wife Ellen begin to feel when they realize their beautiful little boy is not "normal" and chronicles their journey into the mysteries of autism. With humor and honesty, Hughes describes the steps and missteps they take in their search for answers, in spite of grim prognosis. "I hold out no hope for this child," one physician tells them This is not a magic-cure book about autism, nor is it a tale of woe. Running with Walker tells what could be a very grim tale with warmth and grace... This book is a rebuttal to anyone who has ever thought "I could never go through that." In the end, this family goes on, always striving and hoping for the best - because that's what families do. - Chicago Parent 'I loved this book. Painful, funny and moving, it highlights the dilemma faced by parents of children with disabilities - the need to keep hope alive, and the fears and concerns of health professional. Good parents avoid labeling and focus on what is positive about their child. Health professionals deal in labels and focus on what is wrong with children. The clash seems inevitable. Robert Hughes writes with disarming honesty about the reality and complexity of parenting an autistic child and of the need to see Walker not as hopeless, but as a unique child with possibilities. Inspirational reading! - Five to Eleven 'The story Hughes tells is tragic and beautiful and full of hope...His memoir is a testimonial to parental love that is endless, selfless, unconditional and all enduring. It is also great reading for anyone.' -Family Time 'Such an affecting and instructive story, and one told so very well: a father's relentless love for his son, offered time and again, no matter the boy's troubles. Here is human connection at its stirring, challenging best - and here is a lesson of family love for all of us to consider.' --- Robert Coles, James Agee Professor of Social Ethics, Harvard University

About the Author

Robert Hughes teaches English at Truman College in Chicago. His articles have appeared in Newsweek, the Chicago Tribune, Parents Magazine and Chicago Magazine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub; 1 edition (May 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843107554
• ISBN-13: 978-1843107552
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's really all about love, October 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Running with Walker: A Memoir (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this book and the realism of this family. There is not a moment when Walker's autism is cured - no Helen Keller moment. And, for most of us, there isn't. But, we love our children fiercely and we are their protectors and guides for this life we gave them and share with them! Robert Hughes is a father who loves his son - period! Doctors, therapists, educators and specialists usually do not understand the depths of this love, nor do parents of typically-developing children. This book is about autism and the difficulties it presents to a family, but ultimately it is about love. My favorite part of the book is when a pediatric neurologist has just diagnosed Walker as "object-oriented" and has said "I don't hold out any hope for this child" and Ellen, Walker's mother, says to him "Then I guess that's why God didn't make you his mother" and Robert Hughes says that his wife's rebuttal is "the kind of sentence I only dream about days after a conversation". For those of us living with autism, it's a good idea to have a few of these comebacks ready to pull out of our backpocket when someone tries to dissuade our hope or our love!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story of grace, dignity and love of family, October 2, 2003

By 

Janel H. Hastings (Claremont, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Running with Walker: A Memoir (Paperback)

Robert Hughes has expertly depicted the challenges, the heartache and, yes, even sometimes the humor, of life with an autistic child. More than just a book, Running With Walker is a beautiful conversation with the author, and invites the reader to instantly grasp images from the Huges family household in Chicago, and to fall in love with a family who has maintained its grace, dignity and wit in the face of unimaginable obstacles.

A moving, first-hand account written through the eyes of a father with unconditional love, Running With Walker is an absolutely amazing journey.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars opening our hearts and minds, October 21, 2003

By 

christy ortman (Athens, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Running with Walker: A Memoir (Paperback)

"Running With Walker" is not a book to be read once but many times. Each encounter with this book makes me realize that it is a book for everyone who is a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle,sister, brother, etc. We humans are all tied to one another in this bunch called "family". A book that dares to open our hearts and minds to what really goes on in loving and rearing children is truly to be treasured. Robert Hughes has not written a book about autism. He has created a window through which he gracefully invites us to share in his family's most personal space. Thank you, Robert Hughes.