Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Asperger’s
By John Elder Robison
“So is there a cure?’ I asked.
“It’s not a disease,” he explained. “It doesn’t need curing. It’s just how you are”
This memoir pulled me in right away. In Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Asperger’s, John Elder Robison recounts his childhood with a straight forward candidness and a story telling style that makes for easy reading or listening. The emotions his story evokes run the gamut from humorous to heartbreaking and everything in between. Many of the events he recounts are of a mature nature.
There is sense of hope as well as moments of dark humor. I liked the balance in this memoir. As a mother, I found myself both horrified and chuckling at some of his childhood dealings with his little brother. The recounting of his various careers is amazing, considering he was a dropout who was never expected to amount to much.
John Elder Robison’s message of finding a way and doing your best shines though. I found myself rooting for him as he told of his struggles.
I would recommend this book for any adult or young adult who is interested in learning more about Asperger’s, enjoys memoir, or who likes a good story about overcoming. Parents who are concerned with the subject matter should preview the book. This is a good book for discussion and inspiration.
Issues of Concern (I listened to the audiobook read by John Elder Robison. This was an abridged version.)
Mature topics presented in a matter of fact manner in the natural flow of the memoir. Parent’s mental illness, child abuse, father’s alcoholism, sexual abuse by a doctor against his mother, language, mentions of drug use, arrest when working with a band, mention of mother’s bisexualism, mention of brother’s same sex partner, there may be additional issues in the unabridged version
Lit Lovers Book Discussion Questions for Look Me in the Eye
Teacher’s Guide for Look Me In The Eye http://johnrobison.com/downloads/LMITE-teachers-guide.pdf
Student Study Guide for Look Me In The Eye http://www.johnrobison.com/downloads/LMINE_study_questions.pdf
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