The Broken Cord

The Broken Cord is both a personal account of the author's adoption of a boy with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and a synopsis of research on FAS through 1987, when the book was published. I found the personal, familial parts of the story to be both poignant and inspiring. As a parent and as an educator, I could understand the conflicting desires to see only the best in your child and to acknowledge them as they are. The inclusion of the son's own attempt at autobiography was heartbreaking in its conflicting innocent warmth and tired repetition.

Both as a parent and a social anthropologist, Dorris researched FAS for years, and he includes much of it in the midst of his family story. The facts are shocking and seemingly well-documented, show more despite the rather anecdotal recitation of his research. The message is clear and Dorris recites it often: there is NO safe amount of alcohol that a woman can imbibe during pregnancy. Unfortunately, I found it hard to always know when Dorris was making the switch between the anecdotal and the scientific. Perhaps that in itself is part of the problem--can we separate cultural norms and the familial from the scientific? Reading the book, I was by turns despairing and militant. FAS is completely preventable, why isn't it? show less

This book is sobering and far from uplifting. Yet, it is a story that needs to be told. I do wonder how involved the author could have been with his children as he was traveling all over the country doing research. I have three kids who are prenatally affected by drugs and alcohol and travel is hardly an option for our family. Many folks felt this book was depressing and dry...I don't dispute that. It is, however, very well written and incredibly informative.

Re-read for my Programming for Students with Severe Disabilities class, for an assignment/ case study of a 6 year-old with FAS, it’s still an excellent read and so I feel justified putting it on this list, when I usually don’t list books read for school here. Dorris, who I know as a children and adult novelist, wrote this non-fiction about raising his adopted son with FAS. A few years after this book was written Adam, who’d never learned about consequences, even though he was 23 years old, was hit by a car because he didn’t look both ways. Six years later, Adam’s brother also adopted by Dorris with FAE sued him for sexual abuse. Dorris, also going through a divorce, committed suicide. He wrote before his suicide: “I tried to show more save three lives. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough. Maybe they were unsaveable. One is gone. One is lost. One is a danger to all who come within his line of sight.”
Alcohol ruined and warped the lives of three Dorris children before they were born, and the despair brought by it caused Dorris to take his own life. What a waste!!! show less

Harder to read after reading more about the author and the abuse allegations, but certainly a good read about the struggle of fetal alcohol syndrome and its impact on this family.

I read this book many years ago for an assignment in a grad class. I remember being surprised by how much I learned from it and how much I liked it. Definitely going to re-read this one.

Excellent account of how the author and his family deals with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Dorris also describes the prevalence of alcoholism and FAS on Indian reservations.

Every young woman should read this book before deciding to drink while pregnant.
Groundbreaking, heartbreaking story.