When her new-born son Billy is diagnosed with Down's Syndrome, she finds herself facing bigotry and taboo as well as heartbreak. In this powerful memoir, Uuganaa skilfully interweaves the extraordinary story of her own childhood in Mongolia with the sadly short life of Billy, who becomes a symbol of union and disunion, cultures and complexity, stigma and superstition - and inspires Uuganaa to challenge prejudice.
Mongol is the touching story of one woman's transformation from outsider to fearless champion of love, respect and tolerance. It's a moving tribute by a remarkable woman to her beloved baby son, testifying to his lasting impact on a sometimes imperfect world.
The print book was launched last night at Waterstons in Glasgow and my husband, daughter and I were part of the audience hanging on to Uuganaa's every word in her charming mix of Mongolian and Scottish accent. I wasn't the only person with tears in the eyes just listening to a couple of the extracts! I'm now looking forward to getting into the book - we were warned to have some tissues nearby.
While I was sitting waiting for the event to begin, my gaze wandered and I had that warm feeling I used to get in libraries long ago when surrounded by hundreds of real books. We were right beside the classics shelves and I smiled to see all my old favourites together. I certainly wouldn't be without my kindle for reading in bed, but I do love the tangible pleasure of print books. It's one of the reasons I enjoy going to friends' book launches and I hope this may long continue - there are at least another two or three to look forward to in the coming months!
Rosemary
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