Look me in the eye! by John Elder Robison

The biopraphy of JER, a man with Asperger’s Syndrome, not diagnosed until he was 40. Very insightful, and highly recommended to all with an “Aspie” family member.

An intimate and detailed emotional journey, ‘Look me in the eye’, is a well written, compassionate, deeply moving story that will have the reader laughing out loud on one page and on the verge of tears the next. Robison reveals what life was like growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father and his mentally ill mother. As a result of his inability to communicate appropriately, blurting out non sequiturs, and several other socially unacceptable behaviors, he was labeled a deviant. He found comfort with machinery. Dismantling and repairing various machines would lead to incredible employment opportunities, developing toys for Milton Bradley and guitars for the hard hitting rock group KISS and later for Pink Floyd. His life would be forever altered when, at the age of forty he was diagnosed with asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. Robison lifts the curtain and shines an unflinching light on life with asperger’s syndrome.

Chapters:

Little misfit — Permanent playmate — Empathy — Trickster is born — I find a Porsche — Nightmare years — Assembly required — Dogs begin to fear me — I drop out of high school — Collecting the trash — Flaming washtub — I’m in prison with the band — Big time — First smoking guitar — Ferry to Detroit — One with the machine — Rock and roll all night — Real job — Visit from management — Logic vs. small talk — Being young executives — Becoming normal — I get a bear cub — Diagnosis at forty — Montagoonians — Units one through three — Married life — Winning at basketball — My life as a train.