Trade paperback edition in very good condition.
“I needed to stop forcing myself to fit into something I could never be a part of.”
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 (and stick his younger brother in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. 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, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. 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 wasn’t worth the paycheck. It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had a form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself—and the world.
Look Me in the Eye is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner—repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.
Read Alikes for Look Me in the Eye: Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs; Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet; The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin
Trade paperback edition in very good condition.
“I needed to stop forcing myself to fit into something I could never be a part of.”
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 (and stick his younger brother in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. 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, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. 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 wasn’t worth the paycheck. It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had a form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself—and the world.
Look Me in the Eye is the story of Robison’s journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner—repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.
Read Alikes for Look Me in the Eye: Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs; Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet; The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin
ISBN 978-0-307-39618-1
John Robison
2008
