John Elder Robison. (2007). Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's. Unabridged Books on Tape.

John Elder Robison. 2007. Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's. Books on Tape.

John Elder Robison, Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's. Books on Tape, 2007.

John Elder Robison. Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's. Unabridged Books on Tape, 2007.

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   • bioText: John Elder Robison is a world-recognized authority on life with autism, and the New York Times bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye, Be Different, and Raising Cubby. Robison is the neurodiversity scholar in residence at the College of William & Mary, and he serves on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, which produces the U.S. government's strategic plan for autism spectrum disorder research. A machine aficionado and avid photographer, Robison lives with his family in Amherst, Massachusetts.
     
     Mark Deakins’ television appearances include Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek®: Voyager. His film credits include The Devil’s Advocate and Star Trek®: Insurrection. He is the writer, director, and producer of the short film The Smith Interviews.
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Look Me in the Eye

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Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits–an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes–had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother or his father. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.
After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS. Later, he drifted into a “real” job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be “normal” and do what he simply couldn’t: communicate. It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself–and the world.
Robison also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents–the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs. Ultimately, this is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, a strange, sly, indelible account–sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.

reviews

1. • premium: False
   • source: People magazine, Critics Choice, 4 Stars
   • content:

     "Deeply felt and often darkly funny, Look Me in the Eye is a delight."

2. • premium: False
   • source: Entertainment Weekly
   • content: "It's a fantastic life story (highlights include building guitars for KISS) told with grace, humor, and a bracing lack of sentimentality."
3. • premium: False
   • source: Boston Globe
   • content: "Dramatic and revealing."
4. • premium: False
   • source: Chicago Tribune
   • content: "Lean, powerful in its descriptive accuracy and engaging in its understated humor...Emotionally gripping."
5. • premium: False
   • source: Chicago Sun-Times
   • content: "Robison's lack of finesse with language is not only forgivable, but an asset to his story . . . His rigid sentences are arguably more telling of his condition than if he had created the most graceful prose this side of Proust."
6. • premium: False
   • source: Daily Camera
   • content: "Look Me in the Eye is a fantastic read that takes readers into the mind of an Aspergian both through its plot and through the calm, logical style in which Robison writes. . . Even if you have no personal connections with Asperger's, you'll find that Robison--like his brother, Burroughs--has a life worth reading about."
7. • premium: False
   • source: ELLE magazine
   • content: "Not only does Robison share with his famous brother, Augusten Burroughs (Running With Scissors), a talent for writing; he also has that same deadpan, biting humor that's so irresistible."
8. • premium: False
   • source: The Boston Globe
   • content: "There's an endearing quality to Robison and his story that transcends the "Scissors" connection ... Look Me in the Eye is often drolly funny and seldom angry or self-pitying. Even when describing his fear that he'd grow up to be a sociopathic killer, Robison brings a light touch to what could be construed as dark subject matter...Robison is also a natural storyteller and engaging conversationalist."
9. • premium: False
   • source: Booklist
   • content: "Robison's memoir is must reading for its unblinking (as only an Aspergian can) glimpse into the life of a person who had to wait decades for the medical community to catch up with him."
10. • premium: False
    • source: Library Journal
    • content: "Well-written and fascinating."
11. • premium: False
    • source: Publishers Weekly
    • content: "Thoughtful and thoroughly memorable...Moving...In the end, Robison succeeds in his goal of "helping those who are struggling to grow up or live with Asperger's" to see how it "is not a disease" but "a way of being" that needs no cure except understanding and encouragement from others."
12. • premium: False
    • source: from the foreword by Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors
    • content: "Of course this book is brilliant; my big brother wrote it. But even if it hadn't been created by my big, lumbering, swearing, unshaven 'early man' sibling, this is as sweet and funny and sad and true and heartfelt a memoir as one could find, utterly unspoiled, uninfluenced, and original."
13. • premium: False
    • source: Haven Kimmel (who was in attendance at the 1978 KISS tour*), author of A Girl Named Zippy
    • content: "Look Me In The Eye is a wonderful surprise on so many levels: it is compassionate, funny, and deeply insightful. By the end, I realized my vision of the world had undergone a slight but permanent alteration; I had taken for granted that our behavioral conventions were meaningful, when in fact they are arbitrary. That he is able to illuminate something so simple (but hidden, and unalterable) proves that John Elder Robison is at least as good a writer as he is an engineer, if not better."
14. • premium: False
    • source: Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures and Animals in Translation
    • content: "I hugely enjoyed reading Look Me in the Eye. This book is a wild rollercoaster ride through John Robison's life--from troubled teenage prankster to successful employment in electronics, music, and classic cars. A kindly professor introduced him to electrical engineering, which led to jobs where he found techie soulmates that were like him. A fascinating glimpse into the mind of an engineer which should be on the reading list of anyone who is interested in the human mind."
15. • premium: False
    • source: Daniel Tammet, author of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
    • content: "John Robison's book is an immensely affecting account of a life lived according to his gifts rather than his limitations. His story provides ample evidence for my belief that individuals on the autistic spectrum are just as capable of rich and productive lives as anyone else."
16. • premium: True
    • source:
    • content: John Elder Robison's memoir of growing up with undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome, high-functioning autism, is a fascinating story of unexpected successes. To add to his troubles, Robison's mother was mentally ill, and his father was an abusive alcoholic. Failing in junior high, Robison was encouraged by his teachers to repair broken audiovisual equipment. His surprising abilities led to inventing rocket-shooting guitars for the band KISS, developing computerized toys, and fixing classic cars. Narrator Mark Deakins's portrayal of Robison is sincere and sensitive. He appropriately underplays the emotional impact of the childhood abuse to match the matter-of-fact tone of the writing and deftly captures Robison's humor, which features quirky names (his wife is "Unit Two" because she's a middle sister) and practical jokes. A.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
17. • premium: True
    • source:
    • content:

      November 26, 2007
      Although this memoir deals with some dark topics—including Asperger's syndrome, family alcoholism and mental illness—debut author Robison maintains a keen humor and sense of dramatic irony throughout. The gravelly voiced Robison proves to be a capable storyteller, whether describing the pranks he used to play on his much younger brother (Augusten Burroughs, who reads his foreword) or the relief of finally being diagnosed with Asperger's in middle age after a lifetime of social isolation and relatively odd behaviors. Robison is a vocal and emphatic advocate for Asperger's, which he insists is not a disease but a different—and sometimes better—neurology. Asperger's gave Robison a single-minded ability to focus on his love of electronics, giving him a place in the world as the wizard behind Kiss's smoking and flaming guitars or, later in life, a gift for diagnosing and fixing high-end imported cars. This memoir is highly entertaining and the abridgment is smoothly edited. Simultaneous release with the Crown hardcover (Reviews, July 9).

18. • premium: True
    • source:
    • content: Fans of Augusten Burroughs (RUNNING WITH SCISSORS) will enjoy this memoir by his older brother. Narrated by the author, the story conveys with equal measures of humor and pathos the difficulty in growing up with Asperger's--particularly as there was no diagnosis for the syndrome during Robison's childhood. His difficulties and his insights into overcoming them make for a compelling story. Robison makes lemonade from what initially seems like lemons, and, from working on rocket-launching guitars for KISS to owning his own business, his story is unique and compelling. His speech idiosyncrasies would likely hinder the story were they not perfectly suited to the nature of his story. In this case, he's the perfect narrator for a truly original memoir. M.T. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
19. • premium: True
    • source:
    • content:

      Starred review from July 9, 2007
      Robison’s thoughtful and thoroughly memorable account of living with Asperger’s syndrome is assured of media attention (and sales) due in part to his brother Augusten Burroughs’s brief but fascinating description of Robison in Running with Scissors
      . But Robison’s story is much more fully detailed in this moving memoir, beginning with his painful childhood, his abusive alcoholic father and his mentally disturbed mother. Robison describes how from nursery school on he could not communicate effectively with others, something his brain “is not wired to do,” since kids with Asperger’s don’t recognize “common social cues” and “body language or facial expressions.” Failing in junior high, Robison was encouraged by some audiovisual teachers to fix their broken equipment, and he discovered a more comfortable world of machines and circuits, “of muted colors, soft light, and mechanical perfection.” This led to jobs (and many hilarious events) in worlds where strange behavior is seen as normal: developing intricate rocket-shooting guitars for the rock band Kiss and computerized toys for the Milton Bradley company. Finally, at age 40, while Robison was running a successful business repairing high-end cars, a therapist correctly diagnosed him as having Asperger’s. In the end, Robison succeeds in his goal of “helping those who are struggling to grow up or live with Asperger’s” to see how it “is not a disease” but “a way of being” that needs no cure except understanding and encouragement from others.

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Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits–an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes–had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother or his father. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.
After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS. Later, he drifted into a “real” job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be “normal” and do what he simply couldn’t: communicate. It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw...

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Books on Tape

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2. • code: BIO033000
   • description: Biography & Autobiography / People with Disabilities
3. • code: PSY022020
   • description: Psychology / Psychopathology / Autism Spectrum Disorders