Look Me In The Eye

I finished reading this book yesterday. John Elder Robison, the author, grew up with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. It wasn't until he was forty years old, that his friend was able to point it out to him.

Aspergers falls within the spectrum of autism and is indicated by someone whose social skills may be very slow to develop, while other areas of their brain develop so rapidly and intensely that they are sometimes regarded as savants.

Many books have been written about autism and Aspergers, but the thing I like about this one is that it is written by someone who grew up with the condition and didn't know why he was different.

Actually, the book is about much more than just Aspergers. It challenges us to consider how we perceive others, how we develop our own self image and tolerance toward others who do not process the world around them the same way we do.

But besides all of this... the book is funny. Robison has a unique sense of humor and is a masterful storyteller with stories to tell.

Because John Robison is about my same age, I share an affinity to the time period in which he grew up. I can relate to his references of the Vietnam war, the rock groups, and the American culture of his childhood. Maybe these things helped me appreciate the book, but I would recommend it based on the universal need we share to understand one another and appreciate that we are gloriously different.