Juniper: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon

by Kelley French, Thomas French

Overview

A micro-preemie fights for survival in this extraordinary and gorgeously told memoir by her parents, both award-winning journalists.

Juniper French was born four months early, at 23 weeks' gestation. She weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces, and her twiggy body was the length of a Barbie doll. Her head was smaller than a tennis ball, her skin was nearly translucent, and through her chest you could see her flickering heart. Babies like Juniper, born at the edge of viability, trigger the question: Which is the greater act of love — to save her, or to let her go?

Kelley and Thomas French chose to fight for Juniper's life, and this is their incredible tale. In one exquisite memoir, the authors explore the border between what is possible and what is right. They marvel at the science that conceived and sustained their daughter and the love that made the difference. They probe the bond between a mother and a baby, between a husband and a wife. They trace the journey of their family from its fragile beginning to the miraculous survival of their now thriving daughter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316324434
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	672,155
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Kelley Benham French is a Professor of Practice in journalism at Indiana University. A former reporter and editor for the Tampa Bay Times, she was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for "Never Let Go," a series about Juniper's survival.

Thomas French is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and the Riley Endowed Chair in Journalism at Indiana University. He is the author of Unanswered Cries, South of Heaven, and the New York Times bestseller Zoo Story.

Table of Contents

Authors' Note xv

The Tunnel 3

Part 1 Creation 5

Part 2 Blood 57

Part 3 Zero Zone 105

Part 4 Dark Star 189

Part 5 Sky 277

The Hatchling 307

Acknowledgments 313

Editorial Reviews

"Raw, rough and wrenchingly tender....An almost universal story of love and determination and strength."—USA Today

"An extraordinary memoir."—O, the Oprah Magazine

"Beautifully written...it will stay with you long after you finish."—Good Housekeeping

"Riveting."—Tampa Bay Times

"This book is a tender, fierce and breathtaking miracle."—People

"Two skilled journalists collaborate on the most personal of stories: their extremely premature daughter's struggle to survive....A fierce and fact-filled love story with few holds barred."—Kirkus Reviews

"I probably would have read Juniper in one sitting, but I had to stop because I was crying too hard....The Frenches make their fear, panic and grief real....A well-told, fast-paced and emotionally affecting memoir."—Terri Rupar, Washington Post

"A twisting, harrowing, at times painful but powerful memoir, fiercely reported and written with exquisite sensitivity and openness."—Dallas News

"[A] mom must-read....Juniper will capture your attention and heart from its difficult beginning to its hard-won happy ending."—Parents

"The Frenches 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....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."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This is what happens when two great writers join together to tell something really worth telling. This book, of a life barely there, breaks your heart on one page, and makes you want to pump your fist in the air just a few paragraphs later. It is an achingly lovely book, all the lovelier because it is true."
—Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

"This surprising, enlightening book transcends categories. Heartfelt as a memoir, richly researched as narrative journalism, and as propulsive and literary as a novel, JUNIPER offers the rewards of all great books. It alters and expands your understanding of being human."
—Sheri Fink, author of Five Days at Memorial

"This tender and ferocious book offers all of the taut, gritty storytelling of the journalists who wrote it—and all of the lovesick hope of the parents they're becoming. I read it cover-to-cover in a single breathless, nail-bitten evening."
—Catherine Newman, author of Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy

"Kelley and Thomas French are two of America's best narrative journalists, and here is their most important story yet. JUNIPER is an astonishingly intimate and honest account of a mother, a father, and a complicated baby whose very existence calls into question every easy assumption about what a life means. This is a deeply moving and meaningful book."
—David Finkel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Thank You for Your Service

"These two excellent journalists bring their keen eyes to the most personal and wrenching of stories. A powerful book."—Tracy Kidder

From the Publisher

★ 06/27/2016
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. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2016-05-25
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.

Kirkus Reviews