This Boy We Made

A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown

By: Taylor Harris

Narrated by: Iesha Nyree

A Black mother bumps up against the limits of everything she thought she believed - about science and medicine, about motherhood, and about her faith - in search of the truth about her son.

One morning, Tophs, Taylor Harris’ round-cheeked, lively 22-month-old, wakes up listless, only lifting his head to gulp down water. She rushes Tophs to the doctor, ignoring the part of herself, trained by years of therapy for generalized anxiety disorder, that tries to whisper that she’s overreacting. But at the hospital, her maternal instincts are confirmed: Something is wrong with her boy, and Taylor’s life will never be the same.

With every question the doctors answer about Tophs’ increasingly troubling symptoms, more arise, and Taylor dives into the search for a diagnosis. She spends countless hours trying to navigate health and education systems that can be hostile to Black mothers and children; at night she googles, prays, and interrogates her every action.

Some days, her sweet, charismatic boy seems just fine; others, he struggles to answer simple questions. A long-awaited appointment with a geneticist ultimately reveals nothing about what’s causing Tophs’ drops in blood sugar, his processing delays - but it does reveal something unexpected about Taylor’s own health. What if her son’s challenges have saved her life?

This Boy We Made is a stirring and radiantly written examination of the bond between mother and child, full of hard-won insights about fighting for and finding meaning when nothing goes as expected.

©2022 Taylor Harris (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Such a powerful and touching story!

What an authentic account of a mothers…black mothers journey. The intertwined experiences of both her journey as a mother and a child growing up was enriching to read.

Amazing!

Absolutely loved every moment of listening to this book! Story is told in a captivating way. Very relatable content.

Beautifully written truths of vulnerability

Loved it, every word. This book was relatable, touching, vulnerable and 100 percent authentic.

Moving story, but narration is distracting.

I think this book is better read than listening to because the narrator has an odd habit of flip-flopping the pronunciation of Toph’s name. Sometimes it’s a hard “O”, other times the emphasis isn’t there and it sounds like a completely different name. She does it with a few other words, but it’s most noticeable with his name and quite distracting.

A personal story perfectly captured in the context of our times

A deeply personal story - yet Taylor Harris carves out moments that any of us can relate to. A beautiful memoir that I hope will one day be made into a beautiful movie. Our medical system is a deeply broken one - stories like Taylor’s expose the cracks - as she tries to side step them - and muses on those who aren’t as agile: her deep empathy for others while she herself is going through such a difficult time is an inspiration to us all. Highly recommend.