This book , by John Elder Robison, was actually a hard read for me. Basically its the"growing up with Asperger's" tale -that I had found in the book "Born on a Blue Day" that I had loved so much last year-except I felt like this author was a bit more "gritty", much of the Aspergarian characteristics such as lacking emotion or seeming lack of sympathy for others seemed to come out a lot more for me-maybe it was the horrible tricks he played on people when he was young or his entire chapter discussing whether or not he'd picked "the right sister" when marrying his wife-who was one of three sisters..it just hit me the wrong way...although with a fascinating life that includes going on the road with the band KISS and inventing special effects guitars for them, there are definitely some amazing page-turning chapters.
I suppose however you take Robison's anecdotal stories, it is another very interesting look at Asperger's ( a mild form of autism)-and is yet another book that I've read this year that makes me look at how we tend to handle "differences" in peoples mental makeup a little more closely. Robison went for most of his life undiagnosed and therefore was left to his own devices for the most part...and I think its a wonderful thing to see how a person adapts to the world around them, and ultimately uses his savant-like talents to contribute to society....and all in all that's pretty inspiring.
*Important note:I read the paperback version of this book, which is apparently the "edited" version. It has far less language and graphic detail that is apparently a part of the hardback version. So, I guess, be aware!
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