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Title: Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives
ISBN: 1595551506
Author:
Cathleen Lewis
Publicate Date: 2008-10-28
Publish: 2008-10-28
List Price: $24.99
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $14.36
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $14.61
Amazon Merchant Price: $16.49
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Rex
When Cathleen Lewis got the call from her doctor in the last trimester of her pregnancy that there was a mysterious mass in her child's brain, she never imagined the events that would unfold from that day. Upon his arrival into the world, Rex showed great determination to live and excel in the gift that God had bestowed upon him. After being told her son was blind at the age of 6 months, and then at the age of 4 being diagnosed with autism, Cathleen decided to devote all of her time to raising this exceptional child.
This gripping tale, of a child who was deemed a musical savant by many people; and his mother, who shared her life and love with him, is a story of love like no other. Cathleen fought the public school system to get for her son what she knew he needed. She tells their story of overcoming tremendous odds to reach her son when others couldn't; and to help him overcome so many of his hardships through his gift of music.
When times came that Cathleen just thought of giving up the fight and worried that Rex would never be able to function in the "real world", God put circumstances in their path that allowed her to see what a truly exceptional child her son was, and how He wanted her to walk by faith, and not by sight. As Rex developed his piano skills, God developed how his mother viewed the world...from Rex's point of view.
This is a powerful story of love and determination; and it ended up being an inspiration to me. It is my belief that it will also be an inspiration as well as to anyone who reads it. It is well-written by Cathleen, Rex's mother; and I remained glued to each and ever word on the pages until I finished the book. It left me asking for more when the end pages were blank.
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2: Faith and Trust Beautifully Expressed
The phone fell from her hand and crashed to the floor with a thud ... so did her heart. The phone wasn't hurt, but her heart? That was a different story. It was her first pregnancy, and the ultrasound had shown the presence of a suspicious mass in the brain of her unborn child; a gigantic, fluid-filled cyst. The fact that the cyst was benign and repairable was a temporary comfort to her, but shortly after the birth of her son and his first surgery, she received the second blow to her heart ... he was blind. Her heart sank, and her hopes for her son's future were crushed. The third blow was delivered only a short time later ... he was autistic. How could it be that her innocent son should have to live with such horrible limitations in his life? He had done nothing to deserve this.
In the newly released book, REX: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, And The Music That Transformed Their Lives, Cathleen Lewis writes of the struggles and fears she and her son face while trying to accomplish even the most basic tasks of life. Suddenly, from the depths of his multiple challenges, there emerges a peculiar strength, an extraordinary gift ... Rex has been given a rare and wonderful musical ability!
In reading Cathleen's story of her great need and God's great provisions, I saw faith and trust beautifully expressed. She summed it up well in this quote near the end of the book:
"He [God] was telling me to look past my own mind, and just trust. Hear my voice in the music. Hear each note. Don't worry about where it's going. Just hear the sound and know that it's beautiful ... and know that I am God. Trust."
I've been encouraged by this true account told from a mother's heart. If you're interested in learning more about Rex's story and his music, click the link and watch the 7.5 min video interview with Cathleen, the mother of this astounding child.
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3: Rex
Rex is the story written by Cathlene Lewis about her struggles with having a son that has special needs. Right from the beginning he had to have an operation to remove a cyst from his brain. She was told that he was blind. And the hits just kept coming. The beginning of her sons life seemed to be one trial after another. She was told that he was also autistic just a few short months later. How was he to have a normal life. There were many obstacles to overcome. His increasing sensitivity to sound and touch. Being blind and having autism. Refusal to walk and talk. There seemed to be no way that he was going to be able to a normal life.
Rex's dad brought him a piano for his second birthday. From that point on things changed. He started to come out of his shell. When Cathlene all but gave up, God gradually began to show his glory and power through Rex as he begins to interact more and more with the world around him. He learned to walk, talk and laugh. The piano was the key to unlocking who Rex is. Cathlene began to see how God was working through her son to get to her. To tell her to walk by faith and not by sight.
This story will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart as his mother relates how she felt as she received each new puzzle about Rex. His struggles and his triumphs. To see how no matter what God is there in the midst of their lives and that He is bigger than the limitations Rex has had to deal with.
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4: The Power of a Mother's Love (and her God's love for her)
Rex is the inspiring story of an blind autistic musical savant and the mother who poured her life into making sure he had one. Cathleen Lewis spent her young adult days as a student at Sanford and as a worker in the financial markets in Paris. In her late thirties she moved to California, met Mr. Wonderful, married him and got pregnant. Near the end of her pregnancy, a cyst was found on the baby's brain. Luckily it could be drained through surgery. Unluckily, it turned out to be only the beginning of her baby Rex's problems. First, they noticed that he could not see. Ophthalmologists confirmed that the retinal nerve was underdeveloped and that in all likelihood, he'd be blind all his life. His parents enrolled him in a preschool program for the blind and his mother quit her job to maximize her time with him. As he failed to develop normally, even for a blind child, further tests revealed further problems. Life was one long series of discoveries of things Rex could not do--until his father, who had separated from his mother, bought him a keyboard for his second birthday. Rex proved to be a musical savant. He played by ear and was able to reproduce complex melodies after hearing them only one time. At the piano he was able to physically do things he was unable to do away from it.
Rex was written by his mother and is told from her point of view. As the mother of a special needs child, I can identify with seeing hopes for normalcy dropped one by one as the extent of the disability becomes more clear. I've been at the IEP meetings she describes so well. I've met the teachers who were willing to go out of their way to help my child, and those who resented my requests that they handle my son differently. Cathleen Lewis also writes of the spiritual journey for which her son was a catalyst. I've read that great trials in life often either make people reach out for God or cause them to lose whatever faith they might once have had. Lewis found God and can see how her son has drawn her closer to Him.
I loved this book and highly recommend it.
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5: Pure Genius
I have two norms in my reading. Very few biographies. Very few volumes about music. Therefore, Rex was a break from both of those norms. And I find myself incredibly glad I did. Rex tells the story of now 13 year old Rex Lewis, born blind and cognitively impaired, who is inexorably drawn to a small keyboard given to him by his father for his 2nd birthday.
The story of Rex's life unfolds through the eyes of his mother, Cathleen, always centering around Rex's musical talent. and culminating in the beginning of Rex's outstanding development as a stellar musician. The reader is taken on the journey of being the parent of a special needs child. Blind. Autistic. Sensory. Told he would never walk, never talk, never read. The reader goes through the struggles of the multiple surgeries, multiple diagnoses, and multiple methods of therapy. And everything the doctor's have said is coming true. But then Rex discovers music, and through it learns to cope and interact with the world. It is truly an amazing story of God taking a special kid, who the world thought was hopeless, and turning the tables, showing the world that he was a creator of wonder and beauty--a musical savant.
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