Part A)
Ian Brown views the L’Arche as a special community where the disabled thrive and are accepted for who they are and not what they ought to be. It is the love an acceptance that makes the L’Arche special, for the handicapped this place is their home. In part of his book Ian Brown talks about how he feels inside the L’Arche society “No one at L’Arche talked about integration […] (they) made no pretense that the residents would eventually be part of a ‘normal’ community. People like me were outsiders”(Brown 199) This shows that Brown strongly endorsed L’Arche because they accepted the handicapped for what they were, just as he accepted walker for what he is and will continue to be. Also when Ian calls himself an outsider he shares that fact that to them we are abnormal or even disabled because we are incapable to just accept and show love. Ian Brown thought of these things because of Walker, but now this will help him help Walker because the same freedoms the communities share with their disabled patrons, he can try to share with his son.
Part B)
I used to feel bad whenever I saw a profoundly disabled child, because I would think about the parents and how it affects them. I knew it would drain the life out of them and they would no longer have the luxuries of a normal family. What I didn’t know was what I learned from Ian’s Brown’s book that having a profoundly disabled child is extremely rewarding too. This changed the way I thought about handicapped children, I now know that everyone has their own problems some more than others but eventually if we do are best it will always work out in the end. Also through his memoirs Ian Brown has showed me that every life holds a gift, you just have to solve the puzzle as to what it is.
Part C)
The Three Questions I would ask Ian Brown are:
1. Did you and your wife’s relationship ever recover from the strain Walker put on it?
2. Did you ever feel Hailey was neglected because of the constant attention you gave to Walker?
3. Do you still feel that it would have been better to just have a normal kid after you visit to the L’Arche communities?
