28 | Far From the Tree: An Interview with Andrew Solomon

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All summer I have been talking about the book Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity. It has been part of my conversations at picnics, over coffee, during meetings, in lectures, and in a few therapy sessions. I have yet to come across a book that so vividly portrays the experience of parenting as both heart-wrenching and heart-expanding.  It presents a narrative of immense love woven into a kaleidoscope of stories of all that can go wrong in family life.  It is thoughtful, nuanced, and honest.

I was honored by the opportunity to interview the author, Andrew Solomon.

A native New Yorker, Andrew studied at Yale and recently finished his PhD in psychology at Cambridge. Andrew is a writer and lecturer on politics, culture and psychology. His last book, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (Scribner, 2001), won the 2001 National Book Award for Nonfiction, was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, and was included in the London Times list of one hundred best books of the decade.

Andrew’s own story of fatherhood is a bit complex. He is the biological father of a daughter with a college friend who lives in Texas. Andrew’s husband, John, is the biological father of two children, Oliver and Lucy, who live in Minneapolis. Andrew is the biological father of three-year-old George, who lives with Andrew and John. The lesbian mother of Oliver and Lucy was the surrogate for George.

So the shorthand is: five parents of four children in three states and lots of frequent flyer miles.

Andrew lives with his husband and son in New York and London, and is a dual national.