The Path of Aidan: Love is: A Father and His Disabled Child: Love is: A Father and His Disabled Child

Author: Sam Crane
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Aidan's Way is not a parenting guide, nor is it strictly a textbook on love, as love is merely one aspect of human emotions. In this soulful biography filled with joy and pain, we taste the touch or gnawing of all human emotions. Author Sam Crane is an expert in Chinese culture. Inspired by Aidan, he draws a parallel to the useless tree in Zhuangzi, transforming the parenting process into a journey of spiritual and philosophical self-reflection. In the book, we rarely see tears, but rather an alternative kind of cruelty—despite doctors repeatedly kindly suggesting he "give up," he did not. Instead, he shaped Aidan into a vibrant "social being" with a soul and mind. Although the "feelings" of Aidan in his delirious state were essentially "revived" in his father's eyes, the reality remained heartbreaking. Yet, from the book, we still taste a profound compassion for the universal human condition. To say so might sound cruel—here, is Aidan merely a prop, or is he God himself? Aidan's Way, the American edition of NurtureShock, infused with the wisdom of Zhuangzi, is a contemporary classic of love. A despairing child, revealing the path of light to parents. Aidan, the 21st-century Helen Keller, who combines deafness, blindness, and mental retardation, has won the world's cheers. It is an deeply moving ethical story. The author's son, Aidan, exhibited epilepsy symptoms a few days after birth, caused by a congenital brain defect. From then on, suffering and hardship have plagued this father-son pair. As a father, he did not blindly complain about fate but, drawing on Chinese Taoist wisdom and his deep love for his son, continuously strived to protect his son's life and support his growth. Although Aidan would remain blind, deaf, mute, and mentally retarded throughout his life, his father's actions demonstrated the victory of humanity, the victory of life, and the victory of responsibility and love. Throughout history, many geniuses have had children who, out of God's jealousy, had to accept a life of disability, such as the Chinese Li Bai, Tao Yuanming, and the Japanese Kenzaburō ōe. Did they harbor undeniable aversion or hatred toward their flawed children, or did they endure and accept them with ease and tolerance? Perhaps this was God's test for the great ones. The author of this book, a world-renowned expert on Asian issues, was also forced to taste the same bitterness and reflect on how much "natural" Eastern wisdom of "equality of all beings" he, as an American, could embrace, and how much "natural" paternal love he could give. People often say love is fragile, but that is because love has not been intertwined with responsibility, wisdom, and tolerance. If life is fragile, the strong survival instinct of this child is invincible.