Juniper (French)

Juniper:  The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon
Kelley and Thomas French, 2016
Little, Brown and Co.
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780316324427


Summary
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.

Premature 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. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Kelley Benham French
• Birth—1974
• Where—N/A
• Education—B.A., University of Florida; M.A., University of Maryland
• Awards—Finalist, Pulitzer Prize
• Currently—lives in Bloomington, Indiana


Kelley Benham French, has been an American journalist, 2013 Pulitzer Prize finalist, and now professor of Journalism at Indiana University. She and her husband are co-authors of Juniper: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon (2016), the story of their baby daughter's birth at 23 weeks and the couple's decision to fight for her survival. At the time of the book's release, Juniper was a healthy three-year-old.

Career
French received her B.A. from University of Florida and her M.A. from the University of Maryland. From 1998 to 2001, she taught high school journalism, mass media, film, newspaper, yearbook and photo-journalism classes at a magnet journalism high school in Deerfield Beach, Florida. She helped produce the school’s first online newspaper and was named the Florida Scholastic Press Association’s district teacher of the year in 1998.

In 2002 French joined the Tampa Bay Times as reporter, feature writer and, later, editor. As a reporter, she covered several hurricanes and an execution, and she wrote the obituary of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman with brain damage who died after a right-to-life legal battle that received national attention.

She became a deputy editor in 2006 of the Floridian, the Times’ feature section. Appointed as full editor in 2008, she helped to create and lead the paper's Enterprise Team, editing two stories that became Pulitzer Prize finalists—one of which revealed decades of abuse at a state-run reform school, leading to its closure.

In addition to her work for the Times, she served as a visiting faculty member at the Poynter Institute, a journalism school (and owner of the Tampa Bay Times). She also taught at the University of Florida and spoken about writing at universities, workshops, and conferences around the country.

In 2013 French became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing for "Never Let Go," a series about the premature birth of her and Thomas French's daughter. The series considered  the ethical and medical dilemmas involved in saving the lives of premature babies.

In 2014 she joined Indiana University (where her husband Thomas French also teaches) as a professor of journalistic practice. Her position is at the university's Media School, which unites faculty from the School of Journalism and the departments of telecommunications and communication and culture. Upon her appointment, French commented:

I’ve spent my career in a newsroom stocked with brilliant journalists who periodically break out into the IU fight song, so I’m...thrilled to be joining the Media School at this pivotal moment, when the teaching of reporting, writing and thinking has never been more important.

(Adapted from IU Bloomington Newsroom.)

Book Reviews
(Starred review.) [A] love story about [the French's] daughter, with highs and lows throughout and moments of sheer joy that will keep readers involved until the very last page.... With sharp prose...this book should be in the hands of every parent—indeed, of everyone.
Publishers Weekly


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.... A fierce and fact-filled love story with few holds barred.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use these LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for Juniper...then take off on your own:

1. Talk about the serious, often permanent, risks of keeping extremely premature babies alive. What would you have done in the French's case?

2. In their book, the couple discusses the enormous cost of keeping Juniper alive, funds that might have provided health care to many other children. What are your thoughts on this ethical dilemma?

3. Was this child perhaps more precious because of the couple's age and their previous but failed attempts to have a child?

4. What have you learned about the field neonatal care that you were unaware of before reading Juniper?

5. We know the end of the story (the photograph on the cover says it all). Still, did you find the roller coaster story suspenseful? Which parts did you find most harrowing? Which parts brought a lump to your throat or tears to your eyes? Which parts were hopeful...and especially joyful?

7. During your book club meeting, conisder listening to Radio Lab's segment on Juniper and Frenches. The episode is entitled "23 Weeks 6 Days."

(Questions by LitLovers, Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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