| Down's syndrome novel tugs at America's heartstrings
Like many good stories, The Memory Keeper's Daughter begins on a dark and snowy night. But, unlike most first novels from barely known authors, the book has gone on to be one of the biggest hits in recent American publishing. It has sold more than 3.5 million copies in America and is due for publication in at least 15 other countries. It has done all this despite - or perhaps because - it is about one of the most emotional and difficult situations any new parents might face: a child being born with Down's syndrome. .
He vows not to repeat dad's mistake
When George Johnson Sr. visits his children's school for career day, he asks the kids how many live with their fathers. Only a few hands go up. Probing further, he finds out that many girls look forward to becoming mothers, but typically few expect to get married. "My mother told me these men aren't no good," one girl told him. That's when Johnson explains earnestly that his job is to combat the mindset that fathers are optional. He works for Eagle Wings, a drug and alcohol intervention and prevention program aimed at fathers. Johnson, a 52-year-old single dad, strives to exemplify what he preaches. He remembers the awkwardness after his divorce, when he got custody of his two youngest children in 1999. He soon learned son George didn't like beans or eggs and had to come up with some passable meals "so we could eat as a family." He taught himself to do Shamyra's hair, curling three braids on top of her head into his favorite style which he calls "the flower." "While you're raising a child, you're not only a teacher, you're also a student," he reflected.
For parents, kids must be Job One
Q: How come you never seem to get on anybody's case about their morals? It's not just you – "anything goes" is now generally the way of the world. How many more slutty, stupid, knocked-up girls are you going to send to "counselling" and how many more deadbeat, lowlife, shag'em-and-run dads are you going to let off as a lost cause? What's wrong with standing up for the idea that once you've got kids, there are no more "boyfriends" or "girlfriends," no more sleepovers or casual get-togethers with strangers moving in and out of a kid's life? What's wrong with telling these folks that they're rotten at making choices and are, therefore, prohibited from making any more? Just Curious A: While you'd rather lock the barn door after the horse is gone than lead it to safety, I take a different approach.
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