The comic memoir of an Aspergian father raising his Aspergian son, by the bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye-- The slyly funny, sweetly moving memoir of an unconventional dads relationship with his equally offbeat son--complete with fast cars, tall tales, homemade explosives, and a whole lot of fun and trouble Misfit, truant, delinquent. John Robison was never a model child, and he wasnt a model dad either. Diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome at the age of forty, he approached fatherhood as a series of logic puzzles and practical jokes. When his son, Cubby, asked, Where did I come from? John said hed bought him at the Kid Store and that the salesman had cheated him by promising Cubby would do all chores. He read electrical engineering manuals to Cubby at bedtime. He told Cubby that wizards turned children into stone when they misbehaved. Still, John got the basics right. He made sure Cubby never drank diesel fuel at the automobile repair shop he owns. And he gave him a life of adventure: By the time Cubby was ten, hed steered a Coast Guard cutter, driven a freight locomotive, and run an antique Rolls Royce into a fence. The one thing John couldnt figure out was what to do when school authorities decided that Cubby was dumb and stubborn--the very same thing he had been told as a child. Did Cubby have Aspergers too? The answer was unclear. One thing was clear, though: By the time he turned seventeen, Cubby had become a brilliant chemist--smart enough to make military-grade explosives and bring state and federal agents calling. Afterward, with Cubby facing up to sixty years in prison, both father and son were forced to take stock of their lives, finally coming to terms with being on the spectrum as both a challenge and a unique gift. By turns tender, suspenseful, and hilarious, this is more than just the story of raising Cubby. Its the story of a father and son who grow up together-- Recounts how Aspergers syndrome has shaped the authors experiences as a parent, describing his unconventional approaches to fatherhood and his eventual discovery that his son shared the same condition. The best-selling author of Look Me in the Eye recounts how Aspergers syndrome has shaped his experiences as a parent, describing his unconventional approaches to fatherhood and his eventual discovery that his son shared the same condition. 80,000 first printing.
