Hard Landings

“An urgent, eye-opening look at the many systemic and well-intentioned ways adults with IDD are thwarted from living full lives. In this brave and important book, Cammie McGovern, a devoted mother, gifted writer, and tireless seeker of frontline problem-solvers, scours the country for successful solutions while asking herself the most searing and essential questions. And while much of what she finds can be frustrating, even confounding, the dignity and determination of her mission, and the passion and humanity of the advocates she meets, will make readers feel less alone and genuinely hopeful.”—Rachel Simon, New York Times bestselling author of Riding the Bus with My Sister and The Story of Beautiful Girl

“Hard Landings is a fiercely intelligent book—patiently researched, conscionably hopeful, deeply essential. It is also a riveting read, powered by a mother’s certain love.”—Beth Kephart, National Book Award finalist and author of Wife | Daughter | Self: a memoir in essays

“A brave and beautiful book—an indelible, soul-searching work of memoir and reportage in which Cammie McGovern crisscrosses America in hopes of learning what the future might hold for her autistic son. Combining a reporter’s eye with an activist’s passion, a mother’s ferocity with a poet’s sensibility, McGovern gives voice to one of the more pressing human-rights issues of our time: the millions of unseen neurodiverse people whose needs—starting with dignity and respect—remain unmet in our society. I was so moved and lifted by this book, by the people we meet here, and by McGovern’s empathy, wisdom, and humor. Truly—it’s a book you won’t forget.”—Michael Paterniti, author of The Telling Room and Love and Other Ways of Dying

“A gripping, touching and thought-provoking combination of memoir and reportage. McGovern is the mother of a son named Ethan who has autism and, in his early twenties, has ‘aged out’ of the American support system. McGovern tries to figure out what’s next, emotionally and logistically, for Ethan and the many young adults like him seeking to lead meaningful lives.”—Curtis Sittenfeld, New York Times bestselling author of Rodham, American Wife, and Prep

“This country has a shameful history of neglect when it comes educating, housing and finding meaningful work for people with developmental disabilities, a population currently estimated at seven million. In Hard Landings, Cammie McGovern offers a scathing critique of past failings—by the government, by the culture at large, and by previous generations of her own family—but her real emphasis in on the future. In one of many stirring passages, McGovern describes how her own autistic son offers those around him ‘a bridge to kindness.’ And this marvelous book—at turns disturbing, beautiful, hilarious and heartwarming—serves the same function for readers.”—Miles Harvey, author of King of Confidence, Island of Lost Maps, and Painter from a Savage Land

“A deeply moving memoir…as well as an impeccably well-researched history of the treatment of the disabled in this country.”—Lily King, Elle.com