Once is enough -- well done.

The interview of the parents of Dylan -- one of the shooters in the Columbine shooting. Such a great job of showing a very different perspective -- I have great empathy and respect for them now.

It was well written -- many small stories in one package. Too much for one sitting. Often intense information. But I definitely wanted to go back to listen to more.

The book greatly stretched my perspectives and empathy for people living with the conditions and their parents. Especially the loneliness of parents with children with autism, the perspective of being the one that society stares at because they are different, and the immense difficulty of developing a personal identity when you are very different from and often not accepted by much of society.

The discussion of vertical vs horizontal relationships/family was very interesting.

I wish the author would have discussed more about the costs vs value to society of some of the conditions that he reviews -- such as his estimate that an autistic child costs about $5 million during their life but no discussion about the return on this investment for society. Schizophrenia is another topic he considers -- it is also very expensive. I have worked with severely retarded, autistic, and mentally ill people and see the huge costs -- with apparently very little return. He did not discuss what society receives from these costs other than diversity. Is the "diversity" worth the enormous cost? And is the "diversity" something that society even wants? It seems that the solution was usually more money, more services. But not much on the long term return for this money and services. And is this the best use, for society, of these resources? What if these resources were invested in people with potential to give more back to society? No easy answers but the discussion is needed. Resources are not unlimited.

This book is for people who have never given a thought to the differences among people. Perhaps people who stereotype others. Or who lack empathy. It is not at all interesting or entertaining. Solomon colors his discoveries by his own sad youth of not being able to express himself as a gay person growing up.

“Far from the Tree” is so much more than promised by the title. It consists of twelve distinct, fascinating and perspective-changing chapters that weave into a cohesive story of love and resilience. The author performs flawlessly, not so much because he is a professional narrator, but because this story is told from his heart.

Before listening to this book I questioned whether or not I would be able to sustain interest for 40 hours, but as soon as it started I was hooked. Hours flew by like minutes and I devoured this book until the very end.

The vast amounts of personal accounts.

The insights and love that the author was able to share with us through the personal accounts and his own experiences.

Yes, everyone was very different, yet he brought out their sameness to everyone and every family.

Both.

The author gets a bit droning. I was so interested in the actual stories and the material, but his voice did put me to sleep a few times.

It seemed to take me forever to read this audiobook because I kept re-reading what I had just heard. The honesty and respect for individuality is unique. Although the book is dense with research and background references, it is as readable as fiction.
At the end of each Chapter, I had to put it down to reflect on what I had just read. This book is as much about adult children and identity as it is about parenting.
I began telling friends, "You must read this book" by the end of the first section and my enthusiasm increased the more I read. I learned something even in the sections where I felt some familiarity with the subject.
Sections I considered skipping because they seemed irrelevant to me turned out to be the most thought provoking.
The people Solomon interviewed offer such a wide range of personal opinions; it was clear that Solomon can balance widely different conclusions and have them all be true.

insightful, eye-opening, and thought provoking

Anyone who struggles with something that holds them back can relate to the stories of people with disabilities/differences. This really makes helps you put your life in perspective.

He was a little difficult to understand at times but was otherwise great.

I enjoyed listening to it over time.

Gripping, comprehensive research on parenting a different child. The author's heartfelt narration made me feel intimately connected to his material.

I did not read the print version but I did quite enjoy the audio version. It was set up well for an audio book.

Mr Solomon's performance was great. I loved it.

Very long book, so had to be listened to over a couple weeks.

I was sad when the book ended; I wanted to keep learning.

I was very excited to listen to this book as the topics and interviews sounded fascinating. It has a lot of wonderful content, but it seems to drag on quite a bit. It may seem this way on audio, if not when read, but each chapter seems to wander and not feel well organized. I also do not enjoy the author's voice and with such a long book this is particularly frustrating. As excited as I was to get this book, I find it so difficult to listen to that I've only gotten about one third of the way through and have gone ahead and bought another audio book to listen to on my commute. I hope I'll be able to finish Far from the Tree in small chunks.

Yes. I would recommend Far From the Tree to people who are not my friends because everyone should read Andrew Solomon's great and important work. His treatment is a gift, and offers an important opportunity to learn.