Terry Kozloff
terrykozloff@yahoo.com
terrykozloff@yahoo.com
Terry's Review of Choosing Naia: A Family's Journey
Greg and Tierney Fairchild, an interracial couple with impressive careers, imagined their ideal family would
include three children. However, prenatal testing during Tierney’s first pregnancy revealed Down syndrome and
a serious heart defect in her baby girl. Choosing Naia follows the couple in their difficult journey as they examine
their options. Should they terminate the pregnancy or commit to raising a child whose physical and mental
challenges are uncertain?
Making the right choice weighed heavily on the minds of the Fairchilds. They studied literature, watched
videotapes and sought counsel from professionals. Some family members pressed the case for abortion; others
tried to be supportive. Conflicted, the couple did not know if they wanted this baby.
Society’s intolerance played a role in all the Fairchilds had to consider. Greg knew his marriage to Tierney
would present challenges to any child the couple had, but this seemed too much to bear. The racial distinctions
combined with the facial features and mental retardation associated with Down syndrome would give birth to a
lifetime of discrimination and stigma.
I appreciate the reason the Fairchilds shared their story - so others would know Naia was a choice and not an
unexpected or unwanted surprise. It took great courage for the Fairchilds to put their vulnerabilities out to public
view. Their contribution will help move society and its attitudes to a higher plain.
I have written dozens of drafts of this review and have decided finally to be truthful with you and myself about my
thoughts on Choosing Naia. It is not easy. I know the author is a veteran reporter and significant people and
organizations have bestowed high honors and praise upon him. I made every attempt to avoid appearing critical
or judgmental of either the author or the Fairchilds.
I must end this agony and spend no more time beating around the bush by reverting to naked honesty and let
the chips fall where they may. The lives of my two children are extraordinary and are the reason I think the way I
do.
After reading the last word of Choosing Naia, I laid it down and paused for a time to consider its contribution to
the advancement of current day thinking. Certainly, the Fairchilds’ story is a demonstration of the transition
society is making in its perception of people with disabilities. Their ultimate decision to give birth to Naia
contradicts mainstream thinking. More than 90% of expectant parents chose to terminate a pregnancy under
similar circumstances, and the book will likely create some level of change as people consider their choices.
Choice, discrimination, disability, and how they relate to one another, however, are experiences that carry
tremendous emotional power that can be the impetus that activates major change in the lives of people with
disabilities and their families as well as mainstream society.
The author’s journalistic style makes it difficult to connect with the energy behind the turmoil of what the
Fairchilds endured. In the end, I did not have a new banner of advocacy to carry. I expected one. I really
wanted one.
The reason the Fairchilds had for choosing Naia was not a vision they found for a more accepting society. Their
decision came only from a persistent search for a piece of information somewhere that would make a choice
easier for them. Their search ended upon their learning there are families willing to adopt a child with mental
retardation. It provided them with the “escape hatch” they needed to “seal the deal” (their words) and decide to
give birth to Naia.
Far back in the history of our treatment of people with disabilities, society has sterilized, murdered, neglected,
infected and tortured these individuals in the name of progress. This destruction has been disguised in many
different forms: the eugenics movement, state institutions as safe-havens, or test subjects for vaccines. We
have never apologized, and that is what worries me most. This omission hinders the growth of our values and
our souls.
The words not found in Choosing Naia are symbolic of what is missing from society’s soul today – an absence of
a natural consideration that all people are inherently valuable. This absence is at the root of a deep pain felt by
people with disabilities everywhere.
Choosing Naia captured for me why the forty-year-old movement known as self-advocacy remains so radical.
People with developmental disabilities have largely been ignored and Choosing Naia is no exception. Not unlike
what drove the civil rights movement, self-advocates want a sense of somebodiness – a belonging. The severity
of their disabilities is not their most ominous challenge. How people view them is. Self-advocates are driven by a
desire to be recognized for their aspirations and valued as contributing human beings. They do not want to be
called “retarded” anymore. But we still do, and Choosing Naia was again no exception.
Why is there an emotional and intellectual detachment between expectant parents who face making a choice and
the people their children might grow to be? Something is missing from our souls.
After her birth, Naia’s heart surgery proved successful. The family catapulted into a world of developmental
therapy, special education and concerns for her future. The Fairchilds briefly weighed the benefits of plastic
surgery and began to face the pain every parent and person with a disability encounters when our tax-paying
society poses the question, “Are they worth it?”
It was 28 years ago that children with disabilities received the right to a public education when the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) became law. It was twelve years ago that the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) extended civil rights protections to millions of Americans with disabilities. The intent behind both landmark
commandments is to cultivate inclusion, acceptance and full community participation.
Society has clearly been asked to change their views about the inherent value of people with disabilities. We
have so much farther to go, and Choosing Naia is evident of that.
I expect this book will serve as a baseline. I hope that when the Fairchilds decide to be the subject of a second
book down the road a bit, we will find their values and spirit has grown alongside Naia. I want to hear their
concerns for her future as an adult, the struggles they have as she pushes for control in her life, and the
realization that they almost made a terrible mistake.
I will strain to hear how their lives dramatically changed. Not because of her, but for her and the others who
have fought for so long now to be recognized as the human beings they are. That kind of emotional power can
mobilize major change and bring society’s values to a higher plain.
That’s the banner I am looking for.
This is a book review of Choosing Naia: A Family's Journey, by M. Zuckoff, M. Boston: Beacon Press, 2002,
which appeared in the December 2003 issue of Mental Retardation. Copyright 2003 by the American
Association on Mental Retardation. Reprinted with permission.
Greg and Tierney Fairchild, an interracial couple with impressive careers, imagined their ideal family would
include three children. However, prenatal testing during Tierney’s first pregnancy revealed Down syndrome and
a serious heart defect in her baby girl. Choosing Naia follows the couple in their difficult journey as they examine
their options. Should they terminate the pregnancy or commit to raising a child whose physical and mental
challenges are uncertain?
Making the right choice weighed heavily on the minds of the Fairchilds. They studied literature, watched
videotapes and sought counsel from professionals. Some family members pressed the case for abortion; others
tried to be supportive. Conflicted, the couple did not know if they wanted this baby.
Society’s intolerance played a role in all the Fairchilds had to consider. Greg knew his marriage to Tierney
would present challenges to any child the couple had, but this seemed too much to bear. The racial distinctions
combined with the facial features and mental retardation associated with Down syndrome would give birth to a
lifetime of discrimination and stigma.
I appreciate the reason the Fairchilds shared their story - so others would know Naia was a choice and not an
unexpected or unwanted surprise. It took great courage for the Fairchilds to put their vulnerabilities out to public
view. Their contribution will help move society and its attitudes to a higher plain.
I have written dozens of drafts of this review and have decided finally to be truthful with you and myself about my
thoughts on Choosing Naia. It is not easy. I know the author is a veteran reporter and significant people and
organizations have bestowed high honors and praise upon him. I made every attempt to avoid appearing critical
or judgmental of either the author or the Fairchilds.
I must end this agony and spend no more time beating around the bush by reverting to naked honesty and let
the chips fall where they may. The lives of my two children are extraordinary and are the reason I think the way I
do.
After reading the last word of Choosing Naia, I laid it down and paused for a time to consider its contribution to
the advancement of current day thinking. Certainly, the Fairchilds’ story is a demonstration of the transition
society is making in its perception of people with disabilities. Their ultimate decision to give birth to Naia
contradicts mainstream thinking. More than 90% of expectant parents chose to terminate a pregnancy under
similar circumstances, and the book will likely create some level of change as people consider their choices.
Choice, discrimination, disability, and how they relate to one another, however, are experiences that carry
tremendous emotional power that can be the impetus that activates major change in the lives of people with
disabilities and their families as well as mainstream society.
The author’s journalistic style makes it difficult to connect with the energy behind the turmoil of what the
Fairchilds endured. In the end, I did not have a new banner of advocacy to carry. I expected one. I really
wanted one.
The reason the Fairchilds had for choosing Naia was not a vision they found for a more accepting society. Their
decision came only from a persistent search for a piece of information somewhere that would make a choice
easier for them. Their search ended upon their learning there are families willing to adopt a child with mental
retardation. It provided them with the “escape hatch” they needed to “seal the deal” (their words) and decide to
give birth to Naia.
Far back in the history of our treatment of people with disabilities, society has sterilized, murdered, neglected,
infected and tortured these individuals in the name of progress. This destruction has been disguised in many
different forms: the eugenics movement, state institutions as safe-havens, or test subjects for vaccines. We
have never apologized, and that is what worries me most. This omission hinders the growth of our values and
our souls.
The words not found in Choosing Naia are symbolic of what is missing from society’s soul today – an absence of
a natural consideration that all people are inherently valuable. This absence is at the root of a deep pain felt by
people with disabilities everywhere.
Choosing Naia captured for me why the forty-year-old movement known as self-advocacy remains so radical.
People with developmental disabilities have largely been ignored and Choosing Naia is no exception. Not unlike
what drove the civil rights movement, self-advocates want a sense of somebodiness – a belonging. The severity
of their disabilities is not their most ominous challenge. How people view them is. Self-advocates are driven by a
desire to be recognized for their aspirations and valued as contributing human beings. They do not want to be
called “retarded” anymore. But we still do, and Choosing Naia was again no exception.
Why is there an emotional and intellectual detachment between expectant parents who face making a choice and
the people their children might grow to be? Something is missing from our souls.
After her birth, Naia’s heart surgery proved successful. The family catapulted into a world of developmental
therapy, special education and concerns for her future. The Fairchilds briefly weighed the benefits of plastic
surgery and began to face the pain every parent and person with a disability encounters when our tax-paying
society poses the question, “Are they worth it?”
It was 28 years ago that children with disabilities received the right to a public education when the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) became law. It was twelve years ago that the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) extended civil rights protections to millions of Americans with disabilities. The intent behind both landmark
commandments is to cultivate inclusion, acceptance and full community participation.
Society has clearly been asked to change their views about the inherent value of people with disabilities. We
have so much farther to go, and Choosing Naia is evident of that.
I expect this book will serve as a baseline. I hope that when the Fairchilds decide to be the subject of a second
book down the road a bit, we will find their values and spirit has grown alongside Naia. I want to hear their
concerns for her future as an adult, the struggles they have as she pushes for control in her life, and the
realization that they almost made a terrible mistake.
I will strain to hear how their lives dramatically changed. Not because of her, but for her and the others who
have fought for so long now to be recognized as the human beings they are. That kind of emotional power can
mobilize major change and bring society’s values to a higher plain.
That’s the banner I am looking for.
This is a book review of Choosing Naia: A Family's Journey, by M. Zuckoff, M. Boston: Beacon Press, 2002,
which appeared in the December 2003 issue of Mental Retardation. Copyright 2003 by the American
Association on Mental Retardation. Reprinted with permission.
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