The Edge of Normal (Kindle Single)

What is normal? Everything in Hana Schank’s life is going according to plan — career, marriage and a growing family. But when her second child is born with albinism, a rare genetic condition whose most striking characteristics are white blonde hair, pale skin and impaired vision, she discovers that the very definition of normal is up for grabs. A moving memoir with flashes of humor, this essay tells one mother’s story of navigating the spectrum of ability and disability, filled with both heartbreak and joy. And how ultimately she and her daughter learn to balance together on the edge of normal.

Hana Schank is an author and a technology consultant. Her personal essays appear frequently in the New York Times, and her writing has been published or is forthcoming from the Washington Post, Glamour, Allure, Atlantic.com, BBC Travel, McSweeney’s, Aeon, The Big Roundtable and others. Her memoir, A More Perfect Union: How I Survived the Happiest Day of My Life, was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection.