Product Description

An inspiring true story of a life devoted to helping Downs children. Alex Bell is a 53 year old woman who lives in Swinton, on the outskirts of Manchester. She is feisty, funny with a real firecracker of a personality. She has needed that strength of character for Alex is the adoptive mother of 8 children with Downs Syndrome or other disabilities, children who some parts of society would perhaps prefer to forget. Age 28 and unmarried, Alex adopted her first Downs child, Matthew - and became one of the first people in the UK to be approved for adoption as a single woman. Amazingly, she went on to take eight more children under her wing, Simon, Adrian, Nathan, Andrew, Chloe, Tom, Emily and Callum. Some had been through a frustratingly bureaucratic care system, or moved from one foster parent to another. It sometimes seemed an impossible challenge, but Alex was determined to give these children stability, love and the best life possible. With her down-to-earth charm, Alex also brings together the families often torn apart by Downs. She encourages the birth families to get together - some of whom have sadly turned their backs on their son or daughter, but others have now long been happily involved in their children's lives. The nine children each have unique, sometimes heartbreaking stories, but they are also the most joyful, compelling and fascinating children you're ever likely to meet: / Happy-to-lucky Matthew, 24, who takes people on tours of Man. Utd - the only Downs child to be given such a privileged position, and testament to Alex's care / Adrian, the family timekeeper and numbers wiz, as if born with a clock inside his brain / Chloe, the lovable, mischievous scamp known as Little Miss Dynamite Prepare to be amazed, moved and entranced by this powerful true story that will change the way we all look at disabilities. Alex believes special needs children are 'gifts', and spending any time with her it becomes obvious that she also has a very special gift of her own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #146341 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
'In a market awash with true-life memoirs, it is refreshing to find a book that really feels different. As Alex tells each of [the childrens' ] stories, there are traumatic episodes, lots of humour and plenty of heartache - but more than anything, a genuine insight into the redemptive power of love.' The Bookseller

Synopsis
An inspiring true story of a life devoted to helping Downs children.

About the Author
Alex Bell is the adoptive mother of eight Downs Syndrome children whom she cares for at her home in Salford.

Customer Reviews

A Great Read
I read this book because it was lying around and my mother had finished reading it. I now understand why my mother was so difficult to get hold of whilst she was reading this, it's a great read. I read it so quickly I just wanted to keep turning the pages to see what would happen next. I now feel a great sense of loss having finished it. We have a couple of Down's syndrome kids at school, they're nice people. This is one of the most descriptive books I have ever read, far more visual than any of our English course work slogs. I think it's a great shame portraits are included, they aren't necessary, I could pictures the main characters perfectly without them. A brilliant book I loved it.

Beautiful People
As a parent of a Down's syndrome child I enjoyed this book. It's not easy, but worthwhile in life is not always easy. This book was a joy to read, and is support group by my bedside I can dip in to anytime. For those of us dealing with the problems and the huge rewards the issue is not a sensitive one, it's everyday life and we get on with it. Clark's narrative was to the point and necessary and in places very very beautiful as are the people he introduces us to. Well done this is a gorgeous book, light given to the dark. The story of Alex Bell needed to be told.

Heart and Head
This is a strikingly intelligent book, not a christmas card. What the previous reviewer terms blunt I would call honest, and who would want a dishonest book on this or any other subject? The subject is huge - ten lives to be described - and that calls for detached, compassionate journalism, which is what it gets from the author. Without the structure that the journalist puts on the subject the warmth, generosity, dammit the sheer guts of Alex Bell, wouldn't leap off the page the way they do - and we'd be lost in the pitfalls of the law and adoption, the mire and mess of the British social services. It's a serious subject taken seriously. It's well-researched and beautifully illustrated. And if it's 'blunt' .... well I have bad news for you, Bambi's mother doesn't make it to the end of the movie either.