More Than We Expected

“No matter how much I enjoyed parenthood, I found myself having to accept its fundamental truth: that nothing ever turns out quite as you’d expect.”

It was a journey that most parents would hope to avoid: a son born with a congenital heart defect, a fateful decision to take a family trip abroad, and an emergency hospitalization that left them stranded on the other side of the world with no obvious way home.

Despite these difficult circumstances, More Than We Expected is not a tragedy. Instead, this memoir offers valuable lessons about the privilege of parenthood and the practice of medicine: the mysterious ways in which the body forms and grows, giving life; how we find the faith to live with our decisions, even if the consequences are beyond our control; and a family’s extraordinary capacity—when something goes wrong—to compensate and heal.

More Than We Expected is a story of finding strength in the most unexpected places. Our children have a special ability to reveal the goodness in the world—their eyes a window to a life full of wonder. Like them, this book is a vivid reminder of what it means to be human—a miraculous, inexplicable gift, however fleeting.

James G. Robinson has spent nearly two decades at The New York Times, where he helps the company use data to better understand its audience. He has taught expository writing at NYU and is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia Journalism School.

In 2017, his article “Road to Recovery” was featured on the front page of the Times’ Sunday Travel section. Describing a road trip his family took after the death of his five-year-old son, the piece was translated into two languages, received scores of appreciative comments, and was selected as a notable essay in The Best American Travel Writing 2018. The strong response to the article inspired James to write More Than We Expected, detailing the many gifts of their son’s brief but remarkable life.

A native New Yorker, James currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife Tali and their two surviving sons.