A Wild Ride Up the Cupboards

An Atypical Child and his family:
Though a lot of reviewers have called Edward, the central character in WILD RIDE, autistic he is better described as an atypical child with some autistic characteristics. Bauer does a great job describing the impact a child who is very different from others has on his whole family and particularly his parents. WILD RIDE is especially interesting because Edward's mother (Rachel, the narrator of the book) includes researching family history in an attempt to help Edward. The story of her maternal uncle Micky's difficult life in the mid 50's is a compelling story in itself. Rachel also looks in to her adopted husband, Jack's, birth family. Jack, himself, displays some unusual characteristics as he has an uncanny ability to heal, problems with employment and authority and just an unconventional outlook on life. While this is a generally well written book there are spots where time shifts are handled in a confusing manner but a bit of rereading makes all clear.

Accurate dysfunction:
I read this book and "Curious Incident of the Dog In the Nightime" to fulfill a requirement for a diversity class I'm taking. I was the only person in the class who liked "Wild Ride" better than "Curious Dog." As a special educator, I watch and listen as families wade through their lives with a disabled child. It can be messy, complicated, and exhausting, as well as vibrant and rich. For me, this book tapped into all of those things. As I listened to the rest pick apart this book and learned how disappointed they were with the mother, it became apparent to me that, what the group DIDN'T like, was the emotion it sparked within them. I found "Curious Dog," to be somewhat informative for the reader who doesn't know much about autism, but I found "Wild Ride" to be much more 3-dimensional. In all, both were very good books, but with very different perspectives.

A compassionate portrayal of challenged mothering:
What strikes me the most about this book isn't even so much the plot itself, or the autism-related storyline, which is what draws many, I think, but the laid-bare view of a mother's fierce but sometimes ambivalent attitude about sacrificing everything for her children. This mother is intensely human...she lives and dies with her kids, even more so because one is ill, and her love for them is limitless. But you can see the struggle, the pain, the affect on her marriage. She (literally) vows to give up absolutely everything for her kids, and by the end in many ways, she does. You can see the way in which mothering nourishes her, and in such a critical way, because sometimes it's all she has. Sometimes motherhood is such a maze of competing priorities...trying to balance what your children need, you need, your marriage needs. When health and education issues arise, trying to figure out if there is a point where something is hurtful or helpful, and making a choice not knowing sometimes which way it will go but believing it is best with the information you have at that moment. Her love for her kids is so pure and base, rather than cerebral, and you can see how others view her situtation, and even her choice to have children so dispassionately, while for her it is simply as necessary and natural as breathing. As a mother you can really relate to how no one really knows you true family dynamic, or can sometimes understand your choices without being in your life, which of course they can not be. If you are a mother, of even what are outwardly the "easiest" or trouble-free kids, you will find in this mother your deepest darkest doubts and insecurities, as well as your core strength and love, all portrayed in this struggling character and fantastic writing. It is sometimes painful to read, but a worthy mirror of mothers' love.

fabulous:
This book is fabulous! Anyone that has a child that struggles with learning, development, etc... should read this.

Better than the Memory Keeper's Daughter:
Like many others, I read The Memory Keeper's Daughter and thought it was really good. It's a compelling story. But having read A Wild Ride up the Cupboards by Ann Bauer just last year, I knew Ann Bauer had written a greater book. A Wild Ride up the Cupboards has richer dimensions, more surprises, and more honesty than The Memory Keeper's Daughter, and should have been a bestseller. It's an EXCELLENT book, written with the kind of humor and intelligence you get from a writer like Ann Lamott. I have never faced having a sick child (knock on wood) but now I feel like I know what it's like--from the inside. This book will stay with you for years afterward: it'll become part of what you feel you know about the world. Beautiful work.