Sunday, April 11, 2010

Book Review : The Whitest Wall by Jodee Kulp

I had to write this post 3 times because of some issue with Blogger!!  

 

FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) is the leading cause of mental retardation in our country but that most people with FASD have average IQs and no distinguishing physical characteristics. 

It is estimated that 70-80% of kids in the foster care system have FASD, although most are not diagnosed.
 
FASD is often misdiagnosed as ADHD, bipolar disorder, autism, and RAD.
 
The facial features associated with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome form during a very short time of the pregnancy and if there is no drinking during that time the child may have the same brain damage but a more invisible disability.


Alcohol - Did you know?
  • Misuse of alcohol costs our nation $100 billion a year in quantifiable cost.
  • There are more than 40 million problem drinkers in America.
  • Alcohol is the number one drug problem among teenagers.
  • One in three American families suspect that one or more family members have a drinking problem.
  • Although consequence programs and behavior modification techniques often do not work with children with FASD, there are strategies that do?  



Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and disorders definitely  need
more awareness and prevention efforts.



For more information  about FASD - visit Betterendings.org
 
 
 
From Amazon about the author:  

There are few pioneers who must not only pave the path for others to follow...but also must define the landscape to illustrate its existence. Jodee Kulp has written and published more books about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders than any other parent advocate in our time. Her work has provided assistance to thousands of families and individuals living with FASDs. She has opened understanding for professionals to help parents and their children. Jodee's expertise and experience is surpassed only by her creative insight in presenting difficult information in a unique and entertaining manner.
Her award winning writing and publishing sets the standard for others to follow in creating a place of safety in community for persons with fetal alcohol brain injury.


From the back of the book:

What if a serial killer lived in your neighborhood and no one noticed? A grizzly murder in a small Midwestern town triggers a chain of events of hidden pasts and misconceptions. A young transient is arrested for a crime obvious to some he did not commit, while those in positions of power miss the signs.

The story starts in a small community of Riverdale, a horrible tragedy occurs. Sally find hers husband, shot to death in the woods near their home and the sheriff knows exactly who did it or does he? It does seem like all the evidence points to Kevin but as the story progress's you start to wonder, did he really?  Is it because of the way he acts and does racism have something to do with it?

As Kevin sits in jail, he starts doing strange things and the sheriff decides he needs to bring in a forensic criminal psychologist to assess Kevin.
Dr. Lamar Watkins is hired and as he investigates Kevin  we also learn about Lamar's family and his past.

Unfolds a story about  families and how similar/different they are to each other.

I really enjoyed reading about the different families and their lives, my favorite was about Q and Gunner.  As you read you realize how these families are all intertwined with each other and the end was surprising and sad. Also how FASD can affect so many without them knowing it.   


 


8 comments:

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Sounds like a "must read" book!

BTW, Blogger has been very strange lately...frequently it tells me that my cookies are disabled, and then when I try again, everything is fine!

Natalie W said...

Thanks Laurel! I'm getting irritated with Blogger! Hope they fix their issues soon.

bermudaonion said...

Wow, that sounds like a very powerful book! Thanks for your review.

LindyLouMac said...

It is annoying if you lose a post with blogger so I am now using the Windows Live Writer programme, so far so good:)

Sassy Brit @ Alternative-Read.com said...

Hi there!

Sounds an interesting book!

I'm sorry to hear about your blogger issues. I was in twitter this morning moaning of my own too! Had to redo my post today twice and i had it all set up to go, for the author giveaway, days ago! Very frustrating indeed!

Come check it out if you have time!

Hugs, Sassy
:)

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

Super sounding book Natalie - thanks for posting about this :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the post. Liz and I are heading to Vancouver for release of her new book Braided Cord - Tough Times In and Out - let me know if you want a copy? Really appreciated your blog. What a surprise!
Jodee Kulp

Alice said...

Thanks for highlighting about this book. Although this is a different subject, I am currently reading a lot about bipolar disorder.