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Analysis Of The Book ' Expecting Adam ' By Martha Beck

Decent Essays

The book I chose to read for this assignment was Expecting Adam, authored by Martha Beck, which is based on a true story written in 1999. Martha and John Beck are a young couple living in Cambridge, Massachusetts pursing their doctoral degrees. Martha writes the book from when their daughter, Katie, is a toddler (18 months old) and they are expecting their second child, Adam. She tells about the nine months from conception to the birth of her child, Adam, who has Down syndrome and her life changing values and experiences.
The couple is driven to excel, work hard, and are eager to become everything Harvard wants them to be. They are both successful and highly intelligent people. Katie, their toddler daughter, was traded off from one to the other several times a day while Martha and John balanced classes, dissertations, and teaching duties. John took on a consulting job, which required him to constantly commute to Asia (Beck, 1999).
Martha learns she is pregnant and realizes she wants the baby. Even though it is not the right time for another child, the Beck’s become skeptical about their lives being changed. Several mystical experiences challenge the couple throughout the book as they continue their journey with expecting Adam. Martha is only 25-year-old and is urged to have amniocentesis when a blood test indicates there is a 1 in 895 chance her fetus has Down syndrome. She is pro-choice and is faced with pressure to think about abortion even before

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