Dear Gabriel

Dear Gabriel

Halfdan W. Freihow

1st

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Format: Paperback

A father, trying to understand both his autistic son and himself, has written a painfully honest and heartfelt memoir encompassing their conversations, adventures, struggles, and achievements. With great love and profound wonder, Halfdan W. Freihow describes his complex relationship with his youngest son, Gabriel, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. Though their relationship is sometimes fraught with frustration and misunderstanding, it endures and flourishes with parental pride, and ultimately, unconditional love. We need a wall at our backs, you and me. Sometimes a stroke from the palm of a hand is enough. At other times we need to erect huge edifices of insight and understanding in order not to fall, plunge into bewilderment, foolishness and fear. At times we are each other's wall, sometimes you are mine, but often I have to be yours alone, for you stumble and fall so easily. And sometimes that scares me, Gabriel, when I have nothing to hold onto myself, nothing to cling to, only wind and light and open sea, and you tumble beyond any comprehension.'Taking the form of a personal letter, and set against the haunting yet beautiful coastal landscape in which the family lives, Freihow's intimate tale evokes a rich sense of childhood magic. A tender and brutally honest testament to love and the power of family, Dear Gabriel reaches out to all parents as they try to understand and nurture their children, regardless of any obstacles that may stand in their way.

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