From a distance Felix Fitzwilliam, the son of an old English family, is a good husband and father. But, obsessed with order and routine, he’s a prisoner to perfection. Disengaged from the emotional life of his North Carolina family, Felix has let his wife, Ella, deal with their special-needs son by herself.
A talented jewelry designer turned full-time mother, Ella is the family rock…until her heart attack shatters their carefully structured existence. Now Harry, a gifted teen grappling with the chaos of Tourette’s syndrome, confronts a world outside his parents’ control, one that tests his desire for independence.
As Harry searches for his future and Ella adapts to the limits of her failing health, Felix struggles with his past and present roles. To prevent the family from being ripped apart, they must each bend with the inevitability of change and reinforce the ties that bind.
I fell in love with the complex characters–all of them In a world filled with cries for perfection, be it of body, performance, or mind, Barbara Claypole White brings us a story of the imperfect. And then she makes us fall in love with her messy crew.
a heartbreaking, heartwarming, sometimes irreverent, and ultimately insightful ride. Barbara Claypole White had me at “hello.” Okay, not actually “hello,” but… Since White’s debut novel, The Unfinished Garden, I have been an ardent fan of her writing. Her books are filled with wonderfully drawn, but flawed, characters that you just can’t help falling in love with—sometimes in spite of yourself. White has a passion for creating characters that deal with neurological and psychological issues. And then, with great skill, she…
Full of Hope Haunted by memory of his abusive father, Felix Fitzwilliam has always held himself at a distance from his teenage son, Harry, who, although brilliant, struggles with Tourette’s and other neurological challenges. But in the wake of his wife Ella’s heart attack, Felix has to take over as primary parent. Lyrical and filled with hope, THE PERFECT SON is the story of these two men learning to trust each other enough to admit their weaknesses and grow together as men…