O Mother

While shifting through his mother's old papers in the aftermath of her suicide, Emerson Whitney makes a revelatory discovery: he and his mom shared not only a diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a painful degenerative condition, but also possibly another diagnosis: autism. This revelation prompts a profound exploration into disability, diagnosis, and self-acceptance.

O Mother brings us back into Emerson Whitney's (Heaven, Daddy Boy) generous, searching mind. We travel through the Maine landscape, with its seaspray and lobster pots and ship-themed home decor, as Emerson combs lovingly through his mother's life, trying to understand this woman who at times was so sweet it felt perilous.

While home, Emerson runs into his mother's friend, who suggests that perhaps "she just needed permission to be more herself." What had stood between her and this permission? What would it have looked like if she'd have felt free to be herself? Not long after this exchange, Emerson orders his first wheelchair, a beautiful rigid thing with an opalescent frame.

With openhearted and unflinching prose, Emerson gives us a book about tremendous grief, true love, and the powerful beauty of embracing disability.