Teen Autism

I couldn’t wait for Gravity Pulls You In to come out, and not just because I know several of the contributors (although that was part of the reason, of course). It’s because the very idea of this book – a collection of essays and poems written by different parents of very different children on the autism spectrum – is unique and remarkable.

Kyra and Vicki have done an amazing job of editing and sequencing the contributions; the essays and poems flow into one another with the grace and beauty with which they were written. Each piece is an integral part of one of three sections: “Notes from Autism’s Edges,” insightful writings about the experiences of and observations on being the parent of a child with an ASD; “String Theory,” emotional offerings on the connections we have with our children; “And the Shoes Will Take Us There,” inspiring pieces about where we have gone with our children, and how we got there.

They are all beautiful, all universal. I found myself alternately laughing and crying my way through the book, all the while nodding my head. This is quite a journey we share. Our experiences may well be different, but we can identify with all of them. We empathize, we understand. And several times I felt like I was reading about my son, as if I had written it. As if this fellow parent had looked into my memories and said, “Yes, I’ve been there too. You are not alone.”

Gravity Pulls You In is a wonderfully touching anthology that I highly recommend to anyone whose life is affected by autism, whether a parent, relative, friend, neighbor, teacher, or therapist. This book is the parents’ perspective – what we think and believe, how we feel, what we do, and why. I’ve read many autism-related books over the years since my son’s diagnosis. Almost all of them I enjoyed, but only a few found a permanent home on my bookshelves. The rest have been given away to others who might also enjoy them or learn from them. But not Gravity Pulls You In. It’s staying right here. It’s that beautiful.

This entry (Permalink) was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 9:40 pm and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.