Listen free for 30 days

  • The Boy Who Loved Too Much

  • A True Story of Pathological Friendliness
  • Written by: Jennifer Latson
  • Narrated by: Heather Auden
  • Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Boy Who Loved Too Much cover art

The Boy Who Loved Too Much

Written by: Jennifer Latson
Narrated by: Heather Auden
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $37.04

Buy Now for $37.04

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

What would it be like to see everyone as a friend?

Twelve-year-old Eli D'Angelo has a genetic disorder that obliterates social inhibitions, making him irrepressibly friendly, indiscriminately trusting, and unconditionally loving toward everyone he meets. It also makes him enormously vulnerable. Eli lacks the innate skepticism that will help his peers navigate adolescence more safely - and vastly more successfully.

Journalist Jennifer Latson follows Eli over three critical years of his life as his mother, Gayle, must decide whether to shield Eli entirely from the world and its dangers or give him the freedom to find his own way and become his own person. By intertwining Eli and Gayle's story with the science and history of Williams syndrome, the book explores the genetic basis of behavior and the quirks of human nature. More than a case study of a rare disorder, however, The Boy Who Loved Too Much is a universal tale about the joys and struggles of raising a child, of growing up, and of being different.

©2017 Jennifer Latson (P)2017 Tantor

What the critics say

"Always empathetic and consistently insightful, Jennifer Latson's deep dive into Eli's life not only illuminates an under-known condition, but made me rethink the very nature of human connection. I cannot recommend this book highly enough." (Kate Bolick, author of Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own)
activate_proofit_target_DT_control

What listeners say about The Boy Who Loved Too Much

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.