Great book.

I've worked with special needs adults for 21 years and have interviewed many, many families. And I live in Mississippi. And I am a mom. This book is spot on. Like others who have commented, I was frequently struck with amazement that it was written by a man.

From a literary point of view, I'm not sure all of the developmental information about Jewel was needed, but much of it was. It probably could have been condensed. But to the reviewers who say it was slow and tedious and lacked a satisfactory climax, I would say that is the point. Mothers of exceptional children, especially of that generation, have frequently talked of their lives revolving around a bus schedule, as well as constant pushing of the child and the systems that are supposed to serve her. Siblings frequently describe feeling pushed aside. Besides, Jewel is a complicated person. I like her and I don't. I agree with her and I don't. To me, that just makes it believable.

I think the tediousness of the prose follows the same thought process as Steinbeck's long drawn out, boring description of the Joad family's drive through the dust bowl. We want to feel characters' joys and sadness and anger, but not the less dramatic emotions like boredom and never-ending busy-ness. Does that mean they should be ignored in literature?

As for the setting, it is describing days gone by so i didn't get too wrapped up in analyzing the truth of its portrayal. But even today, I know people like Leston and the grandmother, and even Cathedral. So the thickness of the southern stereotypes didn't bother me that much.

In all, it is a must-read for people who work with special needs families. The methods today are much different, but the driving emotions are still very relevant in today's disability climate.

I love the unapologetic and simply spiritual (not religious) way that the main character wrestles with God's role (Vindictive? Cruel? Obsolete? Loving? All-knowing?) and free will in her tumultuous life. Even better is the author's ability to render the most mundane family moments as cherished or sacred history, the same way we all remember those everyday but life-defining vingettes.

A very, very well written novel. I was surprised that a male could write with the extreme amount of sensitivity and depth to the many female issues such as child birth, breast feeding, demands of a newborn, that are covered in this book, and with such tenderness at that. Wow, can't wait to read more of his work. Also, it takes place in the deep south, places where I went to middle school(Picayune), high school(Bogalusa) and graduated from...having actually lived on the Pearl River where the author describes the main characters baptism. His descriptions of how it is for country or small town people to have to make a run into "New Orleans" for those occasional medical reasons or such brought back memories too. At times it is painful to read of "the hard road" that so many poor people walk thru this life on - you want it to stop but yet can't wait to find out how these lives work out. Especially meaningful to me was the span of a lifetime covered in the book and how you actually felt yourself growing old as if your own life was winding down.

I really liked this book a lot, as my rating shows. However, if it were not for the subject matter and story, I would have given the book only 2-3 stars due to the author's style. The story had a slow drawl to it. Maybe the pace was purposeful as it was about folks in and from Mississippi. But I hated that. I had to read a full quarter of the book before I knew I was interested. Many sentences were extremely long as well, slowing the pace of the book even more. So many times as I read through the meanderings of the writing I said, "Oh, come on! Let's move the story so I can see what happens." I do not think a book should repeatedly produce that response.

However, the story itself dealt with so many compelling issues that I ended up really liking it. I was unable to put it down in some places and teary in others. A big part of the book is about raising a child with Downs Syndrome...before it was called that...when they said those children die in a year or two. And it was inspiring to see the obstacles that this family overcame to help their daughter. The book dealt with racial perceptions of African Americans and poor Whites in Mississippi. It touches on the stress on a family when the head of a household loses his job. Marriage and family are also a theme in the book as this family, especially the wife and mother, Jewel, handles all that life has thrown at her.

I do recommend the book, but with the warning that it moves a bit slowly. It would be helpful for anyone who wants to understand living with a handicapped (especially mentally and emotionally) child. It is also helpful in understanding how living with such a child will impact the life of your family. It is helpful for understanding the fortitude a family unit needs when dealing with a big life changing providence.

The author is a Christian, but the book does not read like a Christian story. However, it is not a book with a lot of swearing (almost none) or graphic sex or violence. It would be PG-13 if a movie, mostly due to some of the themes being too complicated for a PG rating.

It sucked. Plain and simple. Dreary plodding along book.

Having watched family members raise two special needs children I can relate to what Jewel experienced in this book with the birth of her daughter. However, as a mother it saddened me to watch her lose touch with the rest of her life in her constant need to try to improve her daughter when I felt she could have embraced and accepted her more for who she was instead of who she hoped for her to be. The book focuses too much on the burden that Brenda Kay is instead of showing ways in which she added to the family. Which she obviously did based on the love everyone has for her. I found much of the book to leave me feeling sad but can also appreciate the love the family has for each other even as they go through the many struggles and trials they experience.

First, the handling of a Downs child was awesome. The off-color singing, the walking, just here and there the tiny moments that made me see that child as real were spot on. I loved the big family feel. I did not mind the N word because it was indicative of the time. Besides the author brought around how the word was not acceptable, which I thought he handled well. Some beautiful moments of prose kept me reading, because I'm a Bret Lott fan. But I had never read this book, so I took the time to read it as well as run down the movie with Farah Fawcett and watch it along and along as I read. However, there just wasn't much of a storyline to me. I kept waiting for it, but it just talked about a family growing up, the highs and lows, with neither being very high or low. I kept waiting for Jewel to me more independent. I totally disliked the way she backslid in the latter part of the book. She left the family to follow her husband who was leaving a job he worked so hard for, on a whim. That just never felt realistic. The part when she finally saw Cathedral (loved that name!) in the end broke my heart and should have completely devastated Jewel, but I don't quite think it did. I just didn't get the whole, come-around theme of the book. It sort of dragged but I kept reading, waiting for "that point" to be made . . . and it just never did.

After Let Me Hear Your Voice, Jewel was the first book I chose to read that might give me some insight as to how to cope with the diagnosis of Autism and moderately Mentally Retarded for Georgia the early part of her third year of life. The story takes place in Mississippi in 1943 and completely deals with the reality of having a handicapped child from the mother's point of view. It takes us from the child's birth to when it is time for her to live away from home when her mom can no longer keep her safe and knows it is the right time to find a home her daughter can know for the remainder of her life. I have read this book twice and plan to read it again. It is well written, simple but when needed to be also powerful. There are moments of laughter and moments of tears. It is a read that helped me discover what is expected of me as a parent of a special needs daughter. The need for that knowledge is not necessary to love this book. Jewel and Brenda Sue are characters that would be a welcomed addition to anyone's heart.

I have a soft spot for books about disadvantaged kids. Here was another one about a child with Down syndrome, and the sacrifices made by a mother who loved this child, to keep her and raise her. Beautifully written, deeply felt.

Boooooooring! There was no climax. The book didn't build up to anything, it was just about Jewel's boring life. It took me 3 months to finish it because I kept buying new books to read instead, I finally had to force myself to finish it, hoping that it would get better. It didn't. I read for about 10 minutes at a time (while smoking or pooping), so I need a book that will keep me interested and maybe even make me want to sit down and read instead of watching TV or whatnot. All the internal dialogue in "Jewel" was excruciating. I am not a literary genius so I am not going to "read into" anything, I am going to read what is in front of me. Don't waste your time on this book, unless you need a cure for insomnia.

Rich writing and yet in a homey way. Jewel's story reaches from her childhood to old age with all the various things that happen in lives, told in compelling ways and with exquisite attention to detail. The author gives us a profound understanding of the characters, of all of us really.

The last-born child in this family has Down's Syndrome, at a time in the mid-twentieth century when not as much was known about it. The story takes place in both Mississippi and California. The tender moments and gentle humor will make the reader smile, and other moments will incite other emotions and drama. There seems to be a little bit of most of us in this book.