This somber, studiously plotted memoir tracks how a Canadian couple came to terms with their daughter's rare genetic condition and devleoped a larger, universal sense of familial belonging. The author, then a graduate student in folklore, and her husband, Andrew, a biologist, lived in Newfoundland when their daughter was born in 2010. Sadie had a shock of white hair and low vision in her extremely sensitive eyes, confounding manifestations of what a geneticist finally diagnosed as albinism-a condition that can be passed down "silently for centuries" because it requires a recessive gene carried by both parents. After initial stages of denial, Emily and Andrew consulted "a slew of specialists" from Toronto to Victoria, where they relocated for Andrew's work, and had Sadie fitted for special glasses. They also began to network with other parents, tapping into the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) at a convention in St. Louis, Mo. After they learned of horrific stories of brutalization of people with albinism in rural Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa, they ventured to Dar es Salaam to visit some of the victims, who were sheltered by the Under the Same Sun organization. In addition, the author perused her own family history seeking the early carriers of the genetic condition. This memoir is tediously crammed with both a dire sense of global discrimination and an intensely personal focus. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Folklorist Urquhart writes poetically and movingly about her daughter, Sadie, who was born with albinism. This genetic condition, which prevents pigment from forming in the skin, hair, or eyes, is so rare that it appears in just one in 17,000 Americans. Urquhart expertly weaves together anecdotes about Sadie and facts and beliefs about the condition. Some cultures revere people with this recessive trait, while others consider them evil. (In parts of Africa, people with albinism are mutilated and murdered.) Parents of children with other disabilities will identify with Urquhart, who hears well-meant but still hurtful comments from people who tell her that the diagnosis could be worse. She also wonders whether her daughter will ever want to take the drug nitisinone to try to augment her pigment and improve her eyesight. Urquhart beautifully chronicles the unconditional love she and her husband have for Sadie. I knew my daughter was extraordinary, she writes. What I didn't know then was that all parents feel this way about their children. Readers will weep and smile.--Springen, Karen Copyright 2015 Booklist

A child born with albinism inspires a concerned mother to uncover its genetic origins.Canadian folklorist Urquhart's affecting debut memoir centers around Sadie, born in 2010 with a rare skin pigmentation disorder resulting in an ethereal whiteness of the skin, hair and eyes, along with a host of maladies including photophobia and partial blindness. Together with compassionate input from her biologist husband, Urquhart presents a creative interpretation of her journey through folkloric beliefs and fables to obtain a new understanding and valuing of Sadie's condition, whether through a new ophthalmologist or the family's move to western Canada. As Sadie progressed through her first year, the author immersed herself in noncompetitive support groups, chatted with artistic acquaintances and networked at an international albinism conference populated by parents accompanying their albino children with "the inaudible swish of white canes sweeping side to side across the floor." From more seasoned parents, Urquhart gleaned the heartbreaking reality of bullying and peer exclusion due to an albino child's appearance and limited vision, while others offered encouragement to simply embrace their imperfections and abnormalities. Though she met hopeful test subjects for new pigmentation drug trials and briefly explored issues of genetic screening, darker chapters detail an unsettling voyage to Tanzania, where albinism can spur eerie, witchcraft-inspired atrocities. Throughout her three-year odyssey, Urquhart voraciously digested familial, archival and census material, searching out medical specialists and "tangential ancestors" in hopes of unraveling the biological nature of Sadie's condition. A weathered photograph album renewed interest in her paternal family tree, which led to a relative who personified a "twist in my genetic lineage." Throughout, the author remains intensely focused on comprehending the complexities of hereditary genetics while appreciating her daughter's "unusual beauty." A graceful, perceptive rendering of a misunderstood condition. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.