The Boy Who Loved Too Much: A True Story of Pathological Friendliness

Journalist Latson's work about Williams Syndrome is partly a portrait about a mother and her love for her special-needs son, and partly an exploration of the condition itself. Williams Syndrome is explained as a genetic disorder that causes intellectual disability as well as physical abnormalities. What is most striking, though, is that people with Williams are intensely drawn to social contact. They rush to hug total strangers indiscriminately and light up when they see even a face they don't recognize. Relying on observations, interviews, and thorough research that makes this rare disease easier to understand, Latson tells the story of Eli and his mother, Gayle. From the boy's diagnosis as a toddler, through his difficult middle school years, and into his first year of high school, when negative behaviors level off and he starts to make friends, she describes Gayle's constant struggle to control inappropriate behaviors as well as advocate for him in school and the community. Her fierce love for her son is undeniable.