Spawning Gray

Spawning Gray is the story of a boy diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 8. Living in close proximity to the city of Boston, Christopher Reardon is fortunate enough to have access to some of the best hospitals in the world. Due to complications with his brain tumor, by age 10 he is in a wheelchair, but persists on to graduate from middle school, high school, and college. His education and his personal turmoil have all culminated in his memoir. The book takes a look at the dark moments of this life as well as the positive ones, and depicts the genesis of an internal strength within Chris. "Nothing is black and white"-the book explores this idea by showing opposing ideas and situations. Spawning Gray culminates on the story 'Luck', and having read the account of Chris' life, readers must decide what 'luck' means to them. Influenced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida and his breaking down of binary oppositions (good/bad, happy/unhappy, dark/light, etc.) C.R. Reardon tries to bring more of a literary touch to the genre of autobiography and memoir. Spawning Gray is a collection of fifteen short stories, sixteen poems, and eight photos. The short stories are written in the manner of Sherwood Anderson a la Winesburg, Ohio, and the book's poems are inspired by poets like Dylan Thomas, Sylvia Plath, Walt Whitman, and others.