look me in the eye

This book is about a man who grew-up knowing he was different, but wasn't sure why. He was diagnosed when he was in his 40's with asperger's. All of his life, doctors and therapists couldn't figure out why he wouldn't look people in the eyes, why he had unusual body language, wasn't able to develop many friendships and he lacked social skills with other kids his age and adults. Professionals just shrugged it off and said he was difficult.

The author, John Elder Robinson, writes his memoir to show what he went through growing up with an un-diagnosed syndrome and how he managed to grow up in a very dysfunctional family and still become "normal" enough to survive. He is the brother of Augusten Burroughs and touches upon how he felt bad leaving him behind while he was growing up, but John had to in order to survive.

It wasn't until a friend discovered a book about aspergers and told John about it. The friend says John "could be the poster boy for this condition" according to all the symptoms in the medical diagnostic book he had showed him. This friend helped open the doors for John to figure out why he was wired the way he was.

This was my first read about asperger's syndrome and I found it very interesting since it came from someone who lives with it and has survived knowing he was different, but not knowing why. I would highly recommend it if you are interested in learning about aspergers from a non-medical perspective.