Happiness Falls
BY Angie Kim
In Happiness Falls, Mia’s boyfriend, Vic, visits the Parsons right before Eugene begins telling his story. Knowing the family is exhausted after the long interview, Vic makes them the only thing he knows how to cook– macaroni and cheese with salad on the side. Bake up the ultimate comfort food with this recipe for The Best Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese courtesy of Mom on Timeout.
** Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the chance to read Happiness Falls in exchange for my honest review. **
“Not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say.”
Rosemary Crossley
If my blog has seemed spotty this year, it’s because I am currently in the middle of a career change. After spending 15 years as a public relations specialist, I decided to go back to school and get my master’s in elementary and special education. I will finally graduate in December and plan to track into special education. For the last two years, I have worked in an elementary special education department, first with children with mild/moderate learning difficulties, and then later with moderate/severe disabilities. I love my kids, and I feel so grateful to be able to work with them. However, it never ceases to amaze me how much these amazing kiddos are underestimated, and how often adults will talk about them right in front of them. Just because they aren’t making eye contact with you or their communication looks or sounds different than other children does not mean that they can’t understand what you are saying. It pains me every time I see an adult do this.
This very concept forms the backbone of Angie Kim’s newest book, Happiness Falls. The book is told through the eyes of Mia, a college student at home for the summer with her twin brother, John. John and Mia have a 14-year-old brother named Eugene. Eugene is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Angelman syndrome (AS), a genetic disorder that is often characterized by excessive smiling and laughter. I had not heard of AS prior to reading this book, so it was really interesting to learn about it and dive into some of the research on the disorder.
Eugene and his father, Adam Parsons, go out for their daily hike to a local waterfall, but Adam never comes home. Instead, Eugene runs home muddy and slightly bloody, then proceeds to self-calm by jumping in his room for hours. Because of a convolution of factors, the family does not realize that Adam is missing for several hours. The rest of the book details the search for Adam and an attempt to unravel what really happened that day at the waterfall.
Woven within the story is a struggle to give people with disabilities a voice. In the process of their search, the family discovers that Adam had been taking Eugene to a therapist that specialized in a particular alternative communication (AAC) system. Through these sessions, Eugene, who was thought to be nonverbal, had learned to punch letters on a letter board in order to communicate. As Mia points out in the book, non-speaking does not necessarily mean non-verbal. Eugene had plenty to say, but he was trapped in a body that could not put the necessary functions together in order to give him the ability to produce speech. This new AAC was life-changing for Eugene in many ways.
I loved the attention that Kim gave to Eugene’s emotions. Eugene was obviously taking in all the stimulus around him and processing it, but he was unable to convey his thoughts. She described the frustration he must have felt not having a voice, especially during the most dramatic moment of his life, his dad’s disappearance. As I mentioned earlier, I hate when I hear adults talk about students with disabilities like they are not even there. Just because their speech patterns do not mimic “the norm” does not mean that they are not understanding or processing what is being said. It’s interesting (and frankly, heartbreaking) to consider whether there are students out there like Eugene, where a motor issue leads to a diagnosis of intellectual disability and an assumption that they are nonverbal. These students might truly feel “trapped” inside their bodies. We tell ourselves that diagnostic testing accounts for motor issues, but can we truly know that for sure? What if there are more individuals out there like Eugene?
While I think this is a really important discussion to have, I also think I can use it as a criticism of the book. Your average reader may pick up Happiness Falls and arrive at the assumption that all nonverbal students are “trapped” inside their bodies much like Eugene. They are simply waiting for the right therapist to come around and “unlock” their speech. In reality, Eugene’s communication abilities are rather unrealistic even if we take Kim’s ideas at face value. Yes, Eugene would pick up language from simply living in the world. However, the family mentions that his regular therapy sessions (before this AAC) only covered basic academics such as colors and shapes. The likelihood of him being able to pick up spelling patterns, sentence structure, and other tenants of language to the degree he did in less than a year of formal instruction is pretty unrealistic. There is some danger in suggesting that any person diagnosed with an intellectual disability is simply “trapped” in their body, and they are capable of communicating at a high level if we can simply find **the** method to unlock it. Intellectual disability does exist, and I don’t want readers to come away from this book and suggest that we shouldn’t diagnose anybody with ID anymore.
Kim’s first book, Miracle Creek, was one of my favorite reads of 2019. Happiness Falls will likely be a book that I mull over for a long time. It’s one of those reads that will make you think. However, the ending was a bit anti-climactic. I think it helps to go into this book thinking of it as a contemporary fiction rather than a mystery. If you are looking for an exciting reveal at the end, you’re not going to get it. Instead, expect to explore your personal feelings about Eugene’s care and society’s approach to children with special needs.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My Rating System Explained 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This was an amazing book, and I can't stop thinking about it. It impacted me emotionally or changed my perspective. My thoughts keep flickering back to it at random times throughout the day. I will absolutely recommend it to my friends or to one of my book clubs. 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: This was a really good book. Parts of it stuck with me, and I might mention it in a conversation. There is a high likelihood that I will recommend it to my friends or to one of my book clubs. 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️: I liked this book. It allowed me to escape from reality for a while. While I might tell somebody about it if I think it will interest them, I will probably not suggest it to one of my book clubs. 2 Stars ⭐️⭐️: There's something about this book that I didn't like. I wasn't willing to go all the way down to a one-star rating, but I'm definitely not digging it. I may recognize that this book is not for me, but it might be for other people. I will not recommend it to my friends or one of my book clubs. 1 Star ⭐️: My rarest rating. I really didn't like this book. Something in the story line upset me, and I probably "hate-read" the majority of the book. Not only will I not recommend it, but I will actively tell people that I did not like it.
Baking Through Book Club 