Hole in the Heart: Bringing Up Beth

Page 1

‘Hole in the Heart packs a powerful emotional punch by pitting ordinary scenes of life with a newborn alongside the devastating reality of the diagnosis of Beth’s condition.’ Joanna Moorhead, Guardian Henny Beaumont lives in London and is an artist and portrait painter. She is married and has four children.

‘It has made me embarrassed for how we break this kind of news to you. It has made me cry for all the anguish you have felt. It has made me hopeful for what Beth has achieved. This is essential reading for every paediatrician in training.’ Robert Yates, Consultant Cardiologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children

This beautifully drawn memoir, infused with Henny’s wit and irony, transforms a deeply personal experience into a story that will resonate with every parent, and anyone who has wondered how to behave towards families with disabled children.

Shortlisted for the First Graphic Novel Competition

Hole in the Heart Bringing

up

Beth

Henny Beaumont

When the hospital registrar told Henny Beaumont that her baby might have Down’s Syndrome, she knew the diagnosis would change her life forever.

Hole in the Heart

‘Wonderful, astonishing drawings… A masterclass in the sorrow and joy of being human, and a powerful reminder that nothing is more earth-shattering than love.’ Meg Rosoff

Hole in the Heart cover final.indd 1

£16.99

www.myriadeditions.com

When the registrar told Henny and her husband that their daughter might have Down’s Syndrome, she thought that her life was over. How would she be able to look after this baby and manage her other two children at the same time? How could this weak little baby, who might die, provoke such feelings of hatred and resentment? And how would she learn to love her? If she couldn’t trust her own reactions to Beth, how could she expect other people to overcome their prejudices and ignorance about her condition? Hole in the Heart is a moving, funny, ironic and refreshingly honest look at living with a child who has special needs. Henny’s remarkable journey speaks not only to parents who have had a similar experience and the medical and care professionals who try to help them, but to every one of us who feels anxiety about our children — wondering whether they are achieving enough, whether we do enough for them, and whether we love them enough.

Memoir / Parenting

Photograph: Steven Epstein Cover art: Henny Beaumont

On Mother’s Day 2001 Henny Beaumont gave birth to her third child. For the first four hours, her baby seemed no different from her two other little girls.

Henny Beaumont

As the PE teacher asks: ‘Who’s really got the special needs here?’

07/03/2016 11:16



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‘Hole in the Heart packs a powerful emotional punch by pitting ordinary scenes of life with a newborn alongside the devastating reality of the diagnosis of Beth’s condition.’ Joanna Moorhead, Guardian Henny Beaumont lives in London and is an artist and portrait painter. She is married and has four children.

‘It has made me embarrassed for how we break this kind of news to you. It has made me cry for all the anguish you have felt. It has made me hopeful for what Beth has achieved. This is essential reading for every paediatrician in training.’ Robert Yates, Consultant Cardiologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children

This beautifully drawn memoir, infused with Henny’s wit and irony, transforms a deeply personal experience into a story that will resonate with every parent, and anyone who has wondered how to behave towards families with disabled children.

Shortlisted for the First Graphic Novel Competition

Hole in the Heart Bringing

up

Beth

Henny Beaumont

When the hospital registrar told Henny Beaumont that her baby might have Down’s Syndrome, she knew the diagnosis would change her life forever.

Hole in the Heart

‘Wonderful, astonishing drawings… A masterclass in the sorrow and joy of being human, and a powerful reminder that nothing is more earth-shattering than love.’ Meg Rosoff

Hole in the Heart cover final.indd 1

£16.99

www.myriadeditions.com

When the registrar told Henny and her husband that their daughter might have Down’s Syndrome, she thought that her life was over. How would she be able to look after this baby and manage her other two children at the same time? How could this weak little baby, who might die, provoke such feelings of hatred and resentment? And how would she learn to love her? If she couldn’t trust her own reactions to Beth, how could she expect other people to overcome their prejudices and ignorance about her condition? Hole in the Heart is a moving, funny, ironic and refreshingly honest look at living with a child who has special needs. Henny’s remarkable journey speaks not only to parents who have had a similar experience and the medical and care professionals who try to help them, but to every one of us who feels anxiety about our children — wondering whether they are achieving enough, whether we do enough for them, and whether we love them enough.

Memoir / Parenting

Photograph: Steven Epstein Cover art: Henny Beaumont

On Mother’s Day 2001 Henny Beaumont gave birth to her third child. For the first four hours, her baby seemed no different from her two other little girls.

Henny Beaumont

As the PE teacher asks: ‘Who’s really got the special needs here?’

07/03/2016 11:16


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