Adam Appich — In the Beginning
When we first meet Adam in The Overstory, he is five, clearly a sensitive child, incredibly observant of all that is alive (“or nearly so”), and neurodivergent. But this is 1968 and that term does not exist yet and is decades away from being understood.
He has painted a picture of himself, his mother, his siblings, and the four trees planted to honor each of their births.
Asked where his father is, Adam grudgingly adds him… “holding this very drawing… laughing and saying, ‘What are these — trees? Is that what a tree looks like?’”
Paternal derision stings but does not break him. Nor does overhearing himself described as “a little socially retarded.” When his brother tells him that means “Not regular people,”
“… that’s okay, to Adam. There’s something wrong with regular people. They’re far from being the best creatures in the world.”
