Letter To Louis

by Alison White

Please Read Brand New, International Softcover Edition, Printed in black and white pages, minor self wear on the cover or pages, Sale restriction may be printed on the book, but Book name, contents, and author are exactly same as Hardcover Edition. Fast delivery through DHL/FedEx express.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Memoir

352 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Laura]

From BBC radio 4:
Alison White's perceptive and powerful dramatisation of her memoir about a mother's love and about a son's determined spirit. A unique insight into raising a child with cerebral palsy. A moving and ultimately uplifting drama about hope: hope for those we love, hope in others and hope for the future.

Following Alison's emergency caesarean section, baby Louis is immediately placed in intensive care. Caught in the eye of the storm Alison and Greg prepare for the worst, but Louis holds on tight and soon they are dreaming of taking him home.

Alison ..... Katie West
Greg ..... Rupert Hill
Natlie/Registrar ..... Natalie Grady
Dr Thompson/Vicar ..... Jonathan Keeble

The drama is introduced by Alison White
JS Bach's Prelude in C Major is played by Louis White

Directed by Nadia Molinari

Alison White's memoir Letter to Louis was published by Faber & Faber in 2018

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...

[David]

An excellently written and inspirational book by a caring loving mother. Covering the challenges of bringing up a disabled child the book reflects joy, despair,anger and commitment. A good read thoroughly recommended.

[Mr L A Fynn]

Amazing insight into a life of caring

Beautifully and truthfully written from the heart. A fantastic read. It truly captures the difficulties a parent is faced with in these circumstances.

[Jennifer]

Amazing read. I finished in two sittings and wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Louis and his family.

[Alison]

This is a truly wonderful book. You will definitely cry but you will also laugh and rejoice as Louis achieves each little milestone. The way that conversations are recounted is deeply affecting I have just opened a page at random
You look at David with a face filled with the hope that I have lost, and your words breathe out and and burn me.
'You will help me to walk'
He answers you honestly, 'I will try, Louis, I will try'
'Just try' you say back with a lilt to your voice
Then later you will be so happy when he finally walks.
The book is an emotional roller coaster and Louis loves roller coasters! He persuades so many people to take him for rides!
How could you not fall in love with Louis, his mother and indeed the whole family?

[Catherine]

My review only seemed to come up as a comment on someone else's review, so I am reposting it here. This is a fabulous book. I read it once, not able to put it down, so then read it for a 2nd time more slowly. It is a book about bringing up a disabled child, which sounds daunting. However, it isn't. It is beautifully written and has funny and joyful moments, as well as difficult moments, in it. An absolute MUST read.

[Tom Bettle]

A very moving and fabulously written book. Moving in so many ways, it will make you laugh out loud, but you will also cry.
A letter to Louis tells of a mother's unconditional love for her disabled son and of their life together as he grows up.

A must read for anyone who wants to read the most moving real life tales. A book you simply won't want to put down and will get all your friends to read too.

[ur mom]

me: *respects Alison White for detailing her life raising someone with cerebral palsy so intimately and having such patience and compassion despite all the obstacles she and her son have been faced with*

*looks at the other books she's written and sees the... How do I put this... sea-men oriented literature*

*Respects her even more because she's a kween*

[AmyHop]

This book was well written and gave a real insight into how Louis is as a person and how his disability (cerebral palsy) affects him, his parents (especially his mother) and the family. As a health professional, I found it distressing that his condition was contributed to by negligence on the part of his Midwife and there is still some anger on the part of the author about this. It's also sad that she found a lack of compassion amongst some of those who should have been a support to her and to Louis. She states that it is a hopeful book and there are some positives: she has been strong and devoted in her care of Louis- but she is honest about her fears for the future.
I read this with Durham Bookswap group.

[Lauren]

I love memoirs, but when I picked this up to read I'd forgotten the blurb and so assumed wrongly that I was reading fiction. That was the only thing that made sense as I got through the early part of the book and read about some of the awful errors made in Louis and Alison's care. Surely that could only happen in a novel? Alas, no - my jaw dropped when I finally caught myself up. Unbelievable (and yet sadly, not).

They are just a fraction of Louis' story though - while at times my heart heart broke a little or my jaw dropped, Louis also had me laughing at his sense of humour & cheering at his achievements. I read this as an audiobook and my (tween) children loved the bits they managed to listen to with me too. They were genuinely excited to hear about the obstacles Louis overcame as he grew up and I would have quite happily had them listen to the whole book with me if I didn't have to wait until the school day was done.

I highly recommend this story of Louis penned by his Mum.

[Cristina Costache]

This is a must read for anyone that may interact with a child with health needs, it’s a good insight as to what be behind, from the history, experience of ableism, that both the family and the child/person experience. I saw a reader struggled with the mistake made by the midwife and the anger the author has - I mean I knew from the first lines that the midwife was making a mistake, and anyone would be upset. While people in healthcare are allowed to make mistakes as we’re all human, the consequences are lived by our patients sometimes their whole life, and we must take in the anger but moreover - the grief. As someone that is a paediatrician and patient my whole life (was also a prem) + had a lot of illness in the family - I genuinely think that grief should be expressed and taken in by any healthcare professional.

[Amy Mulcahy]

I loved this book so much! It is amazing to hear about Louis’ journey from when he came into the world right up until now. Working alongside him daily now; it is amazing to see how far he has come. He is such an intelligent young man, who continues to surprise me almost daily! I devoured this book Alison, please write more! Your writing style is so readable and it’s impossible to put the book down!

[Anna]

I loved the reading of this memoir of having a child with a disability - teaching him to speak, interact with others, move etc all with insufficient help. Alison White gets some terrific help from some doctors (after waiting for services for quite a long time) and some brush offs from other doctors and therapists. The narrator is just terrific.

[Judy Corry]

Well worth reading

I heard the author on Woman’s Hour so wanted to read her book. It is an amazing story, about parenthood, siblings, and the many people who rallied round to help with a very disabled child. Louis’ personality shines through, and the reader can’t help being involved in his progress. It is a sad yet hopeful story. I am in awe of how his parents coped with Louis, and two younger children, and stayed together. An example to all of us.

[MR SD WOOD]

Heartbreak in a few seconds download. I've lost 2 babies to this myself, I understand the totality of your life, as usual, it becomes the child, and this little boy will grow surrounded by so much love. I love him and he's not mine!! Much love to the family xxxxxx

[Barbara]

This is an account of a mother's life with a child disabled by cerebral palsy from birth till his eighteenth birthday and a little beyond. Having grown up with a secerely disabled sibling, this did ring quite a few bells!

[Teresa Wootton-Lee]

It’s ok , not the greatest memoir , worth a read , never finished the last page and had enough to reflect on to talk about it . It’s not a bookshelf keeper.
Some points are interesting .

[Sally Wilson]

Really enjoyed this book,

[JoJo]

I'm not a great one for sad stories, but this proved to be so happy in its sadness and wonderfully uplifiting. Just what was needed in these troubled times.

[Miss Hanna Loves Grammar]

A precious story that signals so much about the need for kindness and compassion!

[Seaside Sparkles]

An excellent audio book which gave a honest and uplifting account of life as a parent of a child with additional needs.

[Fiona Bromelow]

I really appreciated this book. It isn't easy reading as the subject matter is so serious but it is extremely well written, poignantly funny in places and a must read.

[Annette Morris]

This isn't my usual kind of book at all - I much prefer fiction - but our reading group got a set so I thought I'd give it a try and found I couldn't put it down. It's a really well written, unemotional account of bringing up a very disabled child and the impact that has on the family and their relationships both with each other and with the wider world. The professionals from health, education, social services and charities who were involved with the family are all described and we are given a very clear insight into the resulting frustrations and rewards. The writing style is clear, concise and easy to read and follows Louis from birth to adulthood with many hilarious and moving anecdotes, leaving me feeling much better informed about, and with a little more insight into, life with a disabled family member. Louis will stay with me for a long time.

[Peter Hayes]

This is a fabulous book the whole way through. Alison White brilliantly conveys the emotions she felt as the birth of her first child turns from a reassuring, well planned procedure to a chaotic life-threatening emergency. She describes the growing realisation that her baby son Louis is disabled, and the challenges she faces with him. She has battles with officialdom, but also meets with great kindness and help from people. Overall, the book is uplifting, as Louis grows up to develop his own engaging character and reaches for his potential. A great read!

[Eva Davison]

A letter to Louis is the heartbreaking story of Louis who suffered irreparable brain damage when he was delivered prematurely by Caesarean section at 32 weeks, leaving him with severe cerebral palsy.
The story is written by his mother, Alison White, in the form of a letter directed to her son who at the time of her completing the book was 20years old. Each chapter is dedicated to a year in Louis' life.
White is brutally honest about her feelings as she describes the development of Louis and the realisation of the extent of his disabilities. The title of book states that it is a letter to her son and at times I felt that it was so private that I should not have been reading it. But ofcourse the author wrote it for the reader as she realised that Louis himself would never be able to understand it.
White's story tells of her disappointments and frustrations with the authorities and their frequent lack of understanding of the situation. She also writes of the wonderful people who have helped Louis in his development.
For anyone who has ever wondered what life must be like for the families who have a disabled child I would certainly recommend this book.