Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Aidan's Way by Sam Crane (2004)


“Aidan's Way is an endlessly inspiring account of parental love and devotion, of the lessons of ancient eastern philosophy and of what it means, ultimately, to be human.

This life we're given comes in its own season and then follows its vanishing away. If you're at ease in your season, if you can dwell in its vanishing, joy and sorrow never touch you. This is what the ancients called getting free.

...Aidan's crisis had liberated me in a way. We had come close to death, had looked over the edge of the precipice, and then moved back. He would die at some point, perhaps young, maybe very young. He was profoundly disabled, even more so than he had been before. But his near-death had altered my vision. The length of his life or the physical particulars of his life were not as important as the mere fact of his life itself. He was following along in his own season, moving on the currents of the Way....

Sam Crane, a professor of Asian Studies, has to cope with more than he ever imagined when his son Aidan is born with severe disabilities. Turning to the Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu -- he comes to understand Aidan. Gradually, we become aware of Aidan's profound impact on others, including his father, his family and the larger community.”

Aidan's Way can be found at Abebooks.com