Juniper

Starred review from June 27, 2016
The Frenches, Pulitzer-winning journalists, put forth a love story about their daughter, with highs and lows throughout and moments of sheer joy that will keep readers involved until the very last page. This achingly tender memoir is also a roller-coaster. Juniper French was born weighing just 575 grams (the mass of $2.28 in pennies, or a bottle of Gatorade) and was the length of a Barbie doll. She fought with every breath. Her parents kept watch; they sang, they read, they were mesmerized. Thomas even read the Harry Potter series to his tiny bundle, as he did with his older boys from a previous marriage, hoping the protagonist’s spirit would be emitted in every syllable. In alternating chapters, the Frenches recall trying everything to conceive, then later trying everything to keep their baby alive. For nearly seven months, they lived in and out of the hospital while family, friends, and colleagues maintained a tight network of support. The narrative sparks a need to reassess the meaning of a miracle, and the story will resonate for days after the last word. With sharp prose, honoring the simple and the profound, this book should be in the hands of every parent—indeed, of everyone.

June 15, 2016
Two skilled journalists collaborate on the most personal of stories: their extremely premature daughter's struggle to survive.Thomas French (Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives, 2010, etc.), who won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1998, and Kelley French (Journalism/Indiana Univ.), who launched this project with the series "Never Let Go" (a Pulitzer nominee) in the Tampa Bay Times, write alternate chapters in their latest book. Before the daughter appears in the narrative, the authors set the stage for her arrival by telling of Kelley's longing for a baby, the couple's late-blooming, on-again, off-again romance, their failed attempts to conceive a child, their decision to use donor eggs, Kelley's pregnancy, and Juniper's cesarean delivery four months early. Knowing that her chances of survival were slim, the Frenches opted to ask the doctors to try, and the rest of their story is set primarily in All Children's Hospital's neonatal care unit. Thomas' chapters reflect the fact that as a journalist, he kept extensive daily notes of his observations and his actions (he read Harry Potter aloud and played Bruce Springsteen songs to Juniper) in the unit during those long months; Kelley's, which include portions of her Times series, are less specific and more reflective. The authors also provide a capsule history of neonatal care. Inevitably, there are crises, times when death seems close, but with a photograph of a toddler on the cover, readers are spared the suspense suffered by the parents. The authors raise questions about the enormous cost of saving a single life when the same funds could provide health care for countless children, and they are aware of the great risks of permanent damage to an extreme preemie undergoing lifesaving procedures. But for them, their daughter's life was priceless, and the risk paid off. A fierce and fact-filled love story with few holds barred.

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August 1, 2016
Journalism professor Kelly French, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and her husband, a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist and author, tell a heartwarming, healthily-ever-after story of their micro-preemie daughter, Jupiter, born at 23 weeks instead of the usual 40. They take turns narrating as they recount the tale of their high-tech miracle baby, conceived through IVF and kept alive with the help of an incubator, surgery, medication, and amazing medical providers. The book begins when teenage Kelley listens to Tom, who is 17 years older, speak at a high-school journalism camp. They don't start dating until Kelley is 28 and Tom is a divorced father in his forties. Their chronicle of Juniper's survival is based not only on recollections but also on their carefully reviewing their daughter's 7,000-page medical chart and interviewing their doctors and nurses. They candidly bring up the ethical issues of their daughter spending 196 days in the hospital, which cost $6,000 a day to keep her in the neonatal intensive-care unit, but, ultimately, this is an uplifting story, concluding with their 4-year-old daughter happily at home.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)