The Useless Tree

Disability

  • Forever Small

        This story came across the wires yesterday: In a case fraught with ethical questions, the parents of a severely mentally and physically disabled child have stunted her growth to keep their little “pillow angel” a manageable and more… Continue reading

  • Our Children, Ourselves

        An article a couple of days ago in the NYT raises all sorts of ethical issues about birth and disability.  It draws from a piece in the journal Fertility and Sterility and describes a particular medical procedure: The… Continue reading

  • Global Disability

         I did not realize that the United Nations is negotiating an international convention to define and protect the rights of disabled persons around the world. Thomas Schindlmayr’s op-ed in today’s International Herald Tribune brought this to my attention. … Continue reading

  • Chuang Tzu in Everyday Life

     Harriet McBryde Johnson writes the "Lives" column in yesterday’s NYT Magazine.   She is disabled and has written about her life extensively.  Her encounters with philosopher Peter Singer, who takes a rather dim utilitarian view of disability, are bracing.      … Continue reading

  • Sisterhood

        This piece from today’s NYT jumped out at me: "Siblings of Disabled Have Their Own Troubles."   Nothing really new or earth-shattering in this.  We know well the kinds of challenges Maggie has faced over the years as the… Continue reading

  • There Can Be No Wrongful Birth

        A week ago yesterday I was driving back to Springfield from home.  I had left Maureen and Aidan in the pediatric intensive care unit knowing that he might die at any time.  His heart was strong, however, and… Continue reading

  • It’s Chuang Tzu – Even Though They Don’t Mention Him

         James Reston, Jr. has a new book out, Fragile Innocence, which is reviewed in today’s Washington Post.  I am working from the review here, but it rings very familiar to me: the story of a father discovering and… Continue reading

  • Universal Disability

       This obit ran in the NYT today: John Belluso, a young playwright who translated his own experiences with physical disability into a prolific body of promising work, died on Friday at a hotel in Manhattan. He was 36 and… Continue reading

  • The Tao in the Piazza

        As mentioned below, I saw the Broadway musical, "The Light in the Piazza," two nights ago.  I enjoyed it.  There was more complexity to it than the average musical.  And I found certain Taoist resonances in it, especially… Continue reading

  • A Taoist Thanksgiving

        It is a perfect Thanksgiving morning here in Northwestern Massachusetts: a light snow, about 2 inches on the ground; a chill air; great conditions to be inside and cooking and eating all day.  Aidan and I are here… Continue reading