Fair warning that every review has the potential of significant spoilers!
Neurotribes, 2015 ★★★★★ If you only have time to read the chapter about Bernie Rimland and the epilogue, do that. What I find most interesting was how the war provided a massive obstacle for autism research in particular. I feel it also helps that women are in more & more respected roles. Steve seemed to highlight this beautifully starting with Sister Viktorine’s story and ending [full circle] with Gloria Rimland, and tons of others in between. It was like a big womanly word-hug around autism, written by a man! I’m pretty impressed, Steve.
The Autistic Brain, 2013 ★★★★ You can pretty much skip over a ton of stuff she talks about, if you’d like. You can always read more thoroughly about Temple later. But, the basic information such as treating symptoms, focusing on strengths instead of deficits — it’s all very much what a new-to-diagnosis family should be hearing. These concepts are only lately being embraced due to the “actually autistic” movement. As Neurotribes points out, we have this disgusting history of dehumanizing autistic people. Nowadays, embracing neurodiversity is more widely respected. Neurotypicals also have learned so much about diversifying communication. So, the book called “The Autistic Brain” can definitely teach any brain a little something. I am looking forward to reading more about Temple’s life and her newest book, “The Gentle Push.”
Speed of Dark, 2002 ★★★ The ending was … argh. It worked out well, I guess. But, I had a whole other ending built up in my mind. And it wasn’t this. In hindsight, maybe the author is intentionally putting readers in this frustrating path? I guess to illustrate how autism can deliver some really magnificent, but really unexpected results? Maybe to illustrate a freedom of choice-even if the choice feels entirely wrong to most readers-it’s about the choice, not if it is right or wrong. I am probably grasping here. It really didn’t feel that deep, but I have been wrong before. Maybe Elizabeth Moon will set me straight someday. Either way, I wish women were portrayed better in this. There’s potential for really strong women characters here-but, it isn’t written. I’d love to see those differences in a screenplay. Another thing in a potential movie that I’d love is more futuristic sets. Obviously there’s a lot more potential for futuristic visuals. The book was not focused on worldbuilding.
I wish it could have been co-authored by a few people. Perhaps autistic people! There’s a lot of potential for awareness about autism, but it may not work if it’s not set up correctly. I am impressed that there is fiction being (openly) written about autistic people. Surely this is not a huge genre. There is so much that could go wrong, or be offensive that it makes more sense to just have autistic character types or traits for a lot of writers. Hopefully neurodiversity will make an appearance more often when it comes to archetypal characters. This is probably why Katniss bored me. This book was better than wasting time with fifty shades of gray or a “vacation” novel, but not exactly worth it unless you have spare time. Wait for the movie-and hope for a talented director.