Strange Beauty

June 12, 2017
Novelist Factor (The Mercury Fountain) shares her experiences raising a physically disabled child, Felix, in this moving and insightful memoir. Factor and her husband, an attorney, were living in Brooklyn when their first of three children was born. As he grew, they noticed that he was unable to hold himself up like other babies and so began an odyssey of doctor visits, treatments, therapies, scans, and tests, such as the one that revealed Felix had a lack of white brain matter. Felix was diagnosed with a serious disorder called periventricular leukomalacia and eventually with autism as well. Factor felt shame, despair, and loneliness as she confronted the challenges of raising a nonverbal child who cannot walk on his own, yet she was also filled with love for her joyful, exuberant son. As one caregiver noted, “We all think that we do so much for Felix, but he does even more for us.” Still, when the sweet-tempered Felix began to rage and injure himself, Factor and her husband began to search for methods to control the behavior, such as acupressure, diet change, and various prescription drugs. In her efforts to aid Felix, Factor is inspired to create the nonprofit Extreme Kids & Crew, a community center where disabled kids socialize and play. Despite the hardships, Factor emphasizes the infinite ways her disabled son enriches and illuminates her life; this passionate story of a mother’s quest to help her child will resonate with many readers.

June 15, 2017
Factor (Love Maps, 2015, etc.) chronicles life with her nonverbal son Felix, who is autistic and physically disabled.When the planes hit the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, the author's boyfriend, Jason, was near the buildings. While she waited for news from him, she had the agonizing fear that they might never have a child together, which led them to getting married and pregnant a year later. During her pregnancy, Factor contracted chicken pox, which, though she didn't realize it at the time, hurt her growing fetus. In this honest memoir that vibrates with unconditional love, the author details what life is like with Felix and her other two children. It took many months, numerous visits to doctors and specialists, and endless tests before she found out just how handicapped Felix would be due to his lack of white matter in his brain. Factor adeptly chronicles each step of the process, each moment of triumph when Felix reached a new goal, and the times when she and her husband felt dismay and even shame when he failed to advance like the other toddlers around him. Throughout, readers gain a sense of the complexity of Felix, whether he's happy, responding to music therapy, or engaged in some awful fit that forces him to scream and tear at his own body. Factor also discusses her other two children, who were born without such issues, her battles with the health care and educational systems, and her subsequent founding of the nonprofit community center Extreme Kids & Crew. The author's story demonstrates the need for more quality help for parents of children with disabilities, who will find solace in knowing that others have struggled and found joy in this type of parenting. A frank, compassionate, and highly detailed account of the roller-coaster ride of caring for a disabled, autistic child.

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Starred review from August 1, 2017
Factor (The Mercury Fountain, 2012) recounts the story of raising her son, Felix, who has both autism and significant physical disabilities. Though nonverbal, Felix's personality was sweet and affectionate until he began having periodic fits of violence against himself. Though prescription drugs at times alleviated this, Factor wanted more for Felix. Extreme Kids and Crew was born out of Factor's vision of a relaxing sensory gym for those with disabilities and their families, where they would not be judged. Through her efforts, Factor created a place for Felix and others to be accepted and integrated into a larger community. Though Felix's situation eventually necessitated his living at a residential school that could meet his needs 24/7, his unique and continuing imprint on every area of Factor's life and on Extreme Kids is evident in this book. A wonderfully uplifting book about Felix's resilience and the love and community that Factor and her family have created and experienced, this is a must-read for anyone touched by or raising a child with disabilities as well as those in the medical field. In a conversational, well-phrased style, Factor relays a positive outlook and hopefulness at every setback that are truly inspirational.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)