People with albinism, as Urquhart soon learned from doctors and genetic specialists who study the condition that affects around 17,000 people worldwide, is the result of a genetic mutation shared by both parents, that causes a lack of pigmentation in skin and hair, partial blindness, sun sensitivity, and high rates of skin cancer. The nurses remarked at the blondness of her daughter's hair, but it wasn't until a janitor saw her baby and asked about whether or not she was albino that Urquhart began to wonder about her daughter's complexion. She remarks, “My daughter was born with a genetic condition I knew nothing about.” Urquhart tells the story of her daughter's birth – she was a beautiful and healthy baby, with milky white skin and bright, platinum blonde hair. Urquhart begins her memoir with a simple statement about her knowledge of albinism after the birth of her first daughter in 2010. The book takes place over Urquhart's three-year investigation of the condition, providing a multiplicity of perspectives on albinism from the eyes of a loving mother.

Urquhart's memoir is part parenting book about the challenges of raising a child who not only looks different from her peers but also suffers from partial blindness and other disabilities, and part folkloric examination of the history of albinism, and its global interpretations. Beyond the Pale: Folklore, Family, and the Mystery of Our Hidden Genes is a work of non-fiction by folklorist Emily Urquhart about albinism, based on her personal experience raising a daughter diagnosed with the rare disorder in 2010.

Beyond the Pale by Emily Urquhart