Introduction

A searing account of a father’s struggle to save his remarkable son from a rare heart condition that threatens his life—“a powerful and lyric portrait of a son and a vibrant family” (Toni Morrison).

Damon Weber is a brilliant kid—a skilled actor and a natural leader at school. Born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery when he was a baby, Damon’s spirit and independence have always been a source of pride to his parents, who vigilantly look for any signs of danger.

Unbowed by frequent medical checkups, Damon proves to be a talent on stage, appears in David Milch’s HBO series Deadwood, and maintains an active social life, whenever he has the energy. But running through Damon’s coming-of-age in the shadow of affliction is another story: his father Doron’s relentless search for answers in a race against time.

Immortal Bird is a stirring, gorgeously written memoir of a father’s fight to save his son’s life.

Editorial Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, February 2012: Doron Weber lost his brilliant son Damon far too soon. Now he has channeled his grief and rage into a heartrending memoir about the struggle to manage Damon's illness while fostering his talents. Immortal Bird opens by proudly introducing us to the gifted Weber family: Doron, a Rhodes Scholar, met his wife at Oxford; their three children are loving and accomplished. Damon, the eldest, shows particular grace in the face of a rare and debilitating heart condition. As his son's health waxes and wanes, Doron advocates fiercely for Damon inside a medical system that consistently fails him. By the end, Doron's joy has faded and his fury has become palpableâ??the final pages are full of italics and brief, horrifying facts: "My son is disintegrating before my eyes." Damon's decline may be difficult to witness, but we would all do well to watch and learn from his extraordinary strength. --Mia Lipman

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