Some People Even Take Them Home: A disabled dad, a Down syndrome son and our journey to acceptance - Paperback

by Tim J. McGuire (Author)

It is a story filled with passion and compassion, with irreverence and humor, with the awareness of struggles and the joy of achievements. It also is a love story: The love of two generations of parents for their children, the love shared by husbands and wives, and the love that binds brothers and sisters. At its center are a father and a son. The father, Tim, was born with shattering physical disabilities, a child whose future was in doubt. But he survived multiple operations, penetrating pains, hurtful taunts, failures and triumphs, and the roller coaster of emotions to reach the heights of his profession, journalism. The son, Jason, was born with Down syndrome. It was the insensitive and crude doctor who announced his birth with the words that became the family's rallying anthem: "Some people even take them home." Jason mostly lives and thrives in the world of a five-year-old at age 35, yet at times his insights are those of a wise man. And the sweetness and charm of his personality have touched all who know him. He leaves his mark wherever he goes. There are many other supporting actors in this story, and they all have had a role to play, none more so than Jean, beloved wife and mother, and Tim and Jason's north star.

Author Biography

Tim McGuire, 65, is Frank Russell Chair for the business of journalism at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. McGuire retired in June of 2002 as editor and Senior Vice President of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. He served in that position from 1992. Prior to that, he was managing editor of the Star Tribune. He joined the company in 1979 as managing editor of the Star. He was managing editor of the newspaper when it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1990. He has been a Pulitzer jurist six times, most recently in 2003. McGuire is a past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (2001-2002). As the Russell Chair McGuire focuses on the tensions between business and journalism. He does that in a blog called McGuire on Media. The blog explores media ethics and the business of journalism. McGuire is also writing a new blog called McGuire on life, disability and grief.