Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Me and Thad

Author: Tim Sutton

Narrator: Tim Sutton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-16

Publisher: Tim Sutton Creations

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Personal Memoirs

Publisher's Summary:

Thad Aaron Sutton was born on April 29, 1976, with half of his brain outside of his underdeveloped skull. He was the seventh son in a vibrant and active Mormon, military family, but he was not expected to live through the night. He survived, and the Sutton family welcomed him into their home for however long his life might be.

Me and Thad is a joyful, dual coming-of-age memoir, written by his brother, Tim, who was nine years old when Thad was born. It is about family, tireless parents, and the strength of community. It describes the beauty and challenges of caring for a special needs child, and how the presence of Thad in Tim's life helped him on his own journey toward self-discovery and acceptance.

Me and Thad is a courageous book, asking questions about how we respond to the people around us and how we embrace (or fail to embrace) those who are different. As the author, who is gay, wrestles with his own inner conflicts, he asks himself, what is normal, where do I fit in, and what does acceptance really mean?

Members Reviews:

Tim Sutton is a skilled storyteller.

Through memories that are heartfelt and funny, the author considers the difficulty of difference, both in his experience of feeling different in a large Mormon family and in the experience of having a younger brother, Thad, who had obvious physical disabilities. A book larger in scope than a conventional coming-out narrative or disability drama, Suttonâs memoir explores how a child with special needs brings a family closer together rather than farther apart, the latter being a phenomenon doctors had seen time and again given their cautions to the author's parents to bring Thad home.

The memoir also explores various aspects of Mormon doctrine and culture, and while the author appears personally to reject the LDS Churchâs condemnation of same-sex relationships, the religion itself is treated with respect and reverence. Sutton clearly sees the ideas behind Mormonism as shaping the familyâs care for Thad in a positive way, even though the same system of ideas triggered moments of despair and isolation for the author. I feel this is a much needed contribution to the record of contemporary Mormon life that seeks neither to whitewash nor to mock LDS living.

Thought provoking

Having recently become bedridden myself and needing all of my needs taken care of by my wife, I found Thad's story compelling and inspiring. I knew the Suttons when Thad was 6 or 7 years old. As a child myself at that time, I couldn't understand everything that was going on with Thad. So, I appreciate the opportunity to understand better the circumstances as an adult. I can attest to the love this family has for Thad and he for them. Their comfortability level with Thad made it easy for me, as a child, to see Thad as any other member of the family and not for his disability.

I appreciate the author's candor regarding his life as a gay man and the struggle he experienced between that and being LDS. It gave me some insight into the conflict gay LDS men experience. Unconditional love is paramount. The author's experience with his family shows that unconditional love can genuinely be demonstrated even when there are strong differences in opinion for which there may be little common ground.

Heart and soul

I found Me and Thad to be a beautiful tribute to an exceptional soul.