Alex Green wins prestigious National Book Critics Award for Walter E. Fernald biography

Waltham author Alex Green has won the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography for his book “A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled.”

The NBCC Awards are among the most respected literary prizes in the U.S., honoring outstanding books in categories such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry and biography. Judged by professional critics, they’re known for recognizing the most thoughtful and influential literary works.

“I’m very grateful for the award,” Green said. “To get this national recognition for my book and 10 years of work is pretty special.”

Green’s book is a historical biography that examines the life and legacy of Walter E. Fernald, a pioneering but controversial figure in the care and education of people with disabilities. Fernald shaped the lives of people far beyond Waltham, but the story of the man himself has largely been omitted from the history books. 

NBCC co-vice president and awards and biography chair Iris Jamahl Dunkle said Green’s “well researched biography brings back a story that had been hidden in the archives for a century,” telling the story of a doctor “who transformed our understanding of disabilities in ways that continue to influence our views today. But as Green reveals, Fernald was a complex character whose legacy is both inspiring and troubling.”

Green spent more than a decade researching and writing his book. He found and reviewed more than 250,000 original documents tied to the Walter E. Fernald State School and interviewed former patients, employees and politicians involved in its history.

As part of a broader effort around the book, Green has pushed to change legislation and serves as the vice‑chair of the Special Commission on State Institutions, which is the world’s first disability-led human rights commission on institutionalization.