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Todd
Book by Melton, David
266 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1984
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February 23, 2012
I read this book shortly after embarking (along with wife and disabled son) on the rightly-called "Intensive" program of the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential.
(Interestingly, I had kept a journal of the books I read for almost two decades up to that time. This book was the last one I ever entered in it. Because I pretty much had no more time for reading anything for the next four years.)
My note at the time says that I found it "a trifle plodding, possibly because he repeats verbatim material I'd already heard from the original source, but all in all very moving."
What I also remember feeling was that it was too saccharine. Tom Wolfe said in a recent interview that it's a mistake to be "nice" when writing nonfiction, and it seemed to me that Melton made that mistake. In the interests of pulling the reader's heartstrings, he perhaps failed to faithfully describe the experience of being on program with a brain-injured kid. To some extent, that may be due to the fact that I believe the Institutes became far more demanding of families after Melton's day.
UPDATED to add that I have just been contacted by Todd's sister, who located me after learning about the existence of my own memoir. It has been a long time since I spoke with a fellow veteran of that program. I had almost forgotten the point of view one acquires. Possibly she has retained it more unambiguously than I because of the more intimate relationship her family was able to establish with the Domans in those early days and also because of Todd's impressive degree of success. He's now 54 years old and has been living independently for 30 years. Good for him!
(Interestingly, I had kept a journal of the books I read for almost two decades up to that time. This book was the last one I ever entered in it. Because I pretty much had no more time for reading anything for the next four years.)
My note at the time says that I found it "a trifle plodding, possibly because he repeats verbatim material I'd already heard from the original source, but all in all very moving."
What I also remember feeling was that it was too saccharine. Tom Wolfe said in a recent interview that it's a mistake to be "nice" when writing nonfiction, and it seemed to me that Melton made that mistake. In the interests of pulling the reader's heartstrings, he perhaps failed to faithfully describe the experience of being on program with a brain-injured kid. To some extent, that may be due to the fact that I believe the Institutes became far more demanding of families after Melton's day.
UPDATED to add that I have just been contacted by Todd's sister, who located me after learning about the existence of my own memoir. It has been a long time since I spoke with a fellow veteran of that program. I had almost forgotten the point of view one acquires. Possibly she has retained it more unambiguously than I because of the more intimate relationship her family was able to establish with the Domans in those early days and also because of Todd's impressive degree of success. He's now 54 years old and has been living independently for 30 years. Good for him!
Displaying 1 of 1 review