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Biography & Autobiography. Psychology. Nonfiction. HTML:Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits–an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes–had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother or his father. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on. After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS. Later, he drifted into a “real” job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be “normal” and do what he simply couldn’t: communicate. It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself–and the world. Robison also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents–the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs. Ultimately, this is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, a strange, sly, indelible account–sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.… (more)
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The finest part of this book was the second half. There John relates briefly the story of his two marriages and his relationship with his son. He talks about career choices, those that worked for him and those that did not. Even more important, he tells about TR Rosenberg, a therapist who confronted him with specifics of what has made him “different” and what this discovery has meant to him. He ends on the bittersweet note of making peace with his parents. In the very final pages, he offers encouragement and hope to other individuals by suggesting resources including books to read and websites to view.
I found this to be quite a worthwhile read. I enjoyed talking about this book with my husband who also recently read it. In addition, I was happy to learn that the author will soon have a new book about Asperger’s syndrome coming out this month. I’m looking forward to reading that book as well.
When autobiographies by Aspergians started to appear in publication, I snapped them up and read them eagerly. One of the very first was Temple Grandin’s Thinking in Pictures: and Other Reports from my Life with Autism. She became widely known when the famous neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks, wrote about her in his bestselling book An Anthropologist on Mars. I recommend both of these books highly.
Autobiographies are great, but there is nothing like the power of fiction to get a reader deeply inside the mind of another human being! There are two outstanding works of fiction that are told from the perspective of someone on the high end of the autism spectrum: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, and The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. I also recommend both of these books highly.
A few weeks ago, discovered that there was a new Aspergian autobiography on the market: John Elder Robison’s Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger’s. I ordered it immediately. Yesterday, I picked up the book after breakfast and was surprised to find that I had completely finished it by later that same afternoon.
What a delightful, and often humorous, book this was! The book is mainly a collection of stories from the Robison’s unusual life. The writing is surprisingly fresh, honest, and emotionally open. The stories are full of amazingly dysfunctional parents, geeky pranks, and weird happenings. Though them, and many inward-looking passages found throughout the book, Robison gives us keen insight into the mind and thinking processes of a high-functioning person with Asperger’s Syndrome, aptly named by Robison throughout this work as Aspergians.
Other reviewers have covered well what is included in these stories and how Robison’s life and this book relates to his younger brother’s bestselling book and major motion picture Running with Scissors, so I won’t cover those aspects here.
What I do want to add that as is wholly new, is that this book is a great companion-piece to The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge. This absolutely fascinating new book gives an easily readable, enjoyable, and thought-provoking nonprofessional overview of the new science of neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections over the life span. This is what Robison was able to do—completely by himself, without professional intervention. As you read this book, you’ll be able to see how Robison was able to rewire his brain, and eventually to make himself more normal.
Robison, the adult accomplished 40-year-old author who writes this book, no longer possesses the same brain wiring problems that his younger self had to deal with. That is why this book can be told with such a high degree of emotional openness and understanding. Toward the end of the book, Robison talks with great understanding briefly about the new science of neuroplasticity and how he is confident that he has been able to slowly rewire his brain over the last two decades of his life.
This is what is wonderful about this book. For me, it was not so much a good book about Aspergians, but it was a fascinating tale about an Aspergian who was able to rewire his brain successfully to respond more normally to life.
If this aspect of Robison’s autobiography interests you, then by all means, read The Brain That Changes Itself. There you will find numerous real-life stories about people, with a wide range of disabilities, who were able to achieve successfully what seemed—until only very recently—an impossible task: changing their brains and conquering their disabilities. Norman Doidge’s neuroplasticity book gets my unqualified highest recommendation. It will change the way you look at the world and you will be able to understand, on an easily understandable scientific level, what Robison was able to do to his Aspergian brain over the last two decades.
So, what do I feel about Robison’s book in general? Well, it was easy and pleasant to read and well worth the time and effort. There are perhaps better books that take you deeper into the mind of an Aspergian. But no book out there shows you a better real-life example of the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections over the life span. I’d give it three stars for the storytelling, three stars for the writing, three stars for the insight it brings to bear on Asperger’s Syndrome, but four stars on what it brings to bear on the new science of neuroplasticity, and for me, that last one out weighs all the rest.
For both those familiar with Asperger's or for those who aren't, this is an enlightening account of what it's like growing up & living with a condition that many people just consider odd, rude, or plain quirky behavior. Since Asperger's wasn't identified as such until relatively recently, John Robison wasn't able to really understand why he is the way he is until he was a middle-aged adult. This memoir portrays his struggles to fit in as a child and as a young adult, and even today. As he's reached a better understanding of his diagnosis and has learned how to better adapt to the social intricacies of "typical" people, he's become a happier and more stable person.
Robison's writing style is very different than that of his brother's; however, I enjoyed reading about growing up in a very dysfunctional family from his point of view. His writing style is a bit more concrete & he has a very deadpan sort of humor. It's often difficult to tell whether he's trying to be funny or if that's just his Aspergian tendencies. His story, esp. in the later chapters, fluctuates between personal anecdotes & self-reflection in light of being an Aspie. I would recommend this book not for its entertainment value, but for its ability to bring to light a condition that is becoming more and more identified & prevalent in today's society.
Though he wasn't very good with interpersonal interactions, Robison displayed extraordinary skill with cars, electronics, and audio-visual displays, and in his 20s, he became a techie for Kiss and went on to design their light-up flaming guitars. He still felt that he wasn't "normal," but he was finding a way to make a life for himself. Robison did not know about Asperger's until a few years ago, when a psychologist friend who had read a paper about it suggested that he might have it. Upon discovering that he was an "Aspergian" (Robison's neologism for those who have the syndrome), he did not lament the years of confusion and frustration but gained a deeper appreciation for the ways in which his challenges allowed him to be creative and make his own way in life. Look Me in the Eye is funny, charming, inspiring and delightfully un-clinical. It is a wonderful resource for anyone who knows, lives with, or works with someone who has an autism-spectrum disorder, and it is a great for those curious minds that just want to hear another perspective. This book is in my top five for the year, and its cover is an all-time favorite.
It is important to remember while reading his book that Aspies often forget that other people don't want to hear every detail of the things that interest them-he goes on and on about guitar designs, circuit designs, train brake systems...he seriously spends more time on a single guitar's description than he does on the entire first decade of his child's life. But if there is someone with AS in your life, this is a great book to read to understand the things happening in his head that he can't describe this well.
Oh, and the author is the brother of the guy who wrote "Running with Scissors." I haven't read that book and don't feel I've missed anything in the plot by skipping it.
Anyone who has ever met somebody with Asperger's can benefit from reading this book. Anyone
Granted, his unusual home situations were another thing to overcome, but the most interesting part to me were his thought processes and why he believes, looking back, he did or liked doing or didn't like doing certain things.
Overall, it is also well-written and interesting just as an autobiography of somebody who worked on staging concerts for the likes of KISS and some other big hit bands of the 1970s.
He has had interesting life experiences and shares them in a way that is hilariously funny, and sometimes sad.
Knowing very little about asperger's, I looked forward to learning about this syndrome and how it affects one's life. Robison provides some
Having said that, I'm glad I listened to this work (even though I wasn't enthralled with Robison's narration). "Look Me in the Eye" helped me to understand asperger's and how it shapes many aspects of a person's life.
But I started it anyway.
And it is
There's also some pleasing crossover of life details with the brothers, which adds a satisfying amount of triangulation.
It's a biography more than a story of autism, but I don't feel cheated out of reading about autism.
I was reading it this morning before I left the house for work, and as I walked outside I felt like I had been awake for hours, because the book is so engaging and rapid-paced (without feeling rushed at all). It was a nice feeling.
After finishing the book, I have to say it was a good read.