Product Description

From the time he was three or four years old, John Elder Robison realised that he was different from other people. He was unable to make eye contact or connect with other children, and by the time he was a teenager his odd habits - an inclination to blurt out non-sequiturs, obsessively dismantle radios or dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them) - had earned him the label 'social deviant'. It didn't help that his mother conversed with light fixtures and his father spent evenings pickling himself in sherry."Look Me in the Eye" is his story of growing up with Asperger's syndrome at a time when the diagnosis simply didn't exist. Along the way, it also tells the story of two brothers born eight years apart yet devoted to each other: the author and his younger brother Chris, who would grow up to become bestselling author Augusten Burroughs. This book is a rare fusion of inspiration, dark comedy and insight into the workings of the human mind. For someone who has struggled all his life to connect with other people, Robison proves to be an extraordinary storyteller.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21035 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

About the Author
John Robison lives with his wife and son in Amherst, Massachusetts. His company, J E Robison Service, repairs and restores classic cars such as Jaguars, Land Rovers, Rolls Royces and Bentleys. His website is www.johnrobison.com.

Customer Reviews

Look Me In The Eye - Fabulous Autobiography
I have dealt with a whole bunch of books written by people with autism/Asperger's (a/AS), and this book is the most tremendous book I've ever read. John Robinson has his own in interests such as dealing with automobiles, which motivated him to run his automobile company. Since I suspect many people with a/AS have been chronically unemployed or underachieved at work, I wish I could do what I was really interested in like him. Even today, I have a lot of job changes, which frequently causes embarrassment at a whole bunch of job interviews. John E. Robinson seems to have more reliable friends than I do. I guess he wasn't as unhappy as me even before he was diagnosed. TR, one of his friends gave John Dr. Tony Attwood's book, Asperger's Syndrome. In this respect, this book wouldn't exist without TR's help, because TR could see through John's AS traits and took it as John's characteristics instead of mentally retarded or socially disabled. The author likes to deal with automobiles and so do I. Unfortunately, I still have no idea what kind of jobs interest me, while he seems to make the best use of his interests at work. So the author must have overcome his social misfits when he became a grown-up.

I'm not getting young and I may not be offered as many jobs as younger people. At least, however, I want to avoid torturing myself at work by experiencing social misfits such as reluctance to do what doesn't suit me! Otherwise, I eventually may have to be stressed-out and quit or get fired like I used to. That is a vicious circle.

Very worthwhile reading
This book is written from inside the skin of someone with a very different thought process from most people. It is heartwarming, heartbreaking, funny, sad and entertaining all at once. Further, it helped me understand my son with Aspergers better and to not overreact to his more unusual behavior. A good read, though the language is a bit rough and completely frank, so its not for the younger readers. The audio book is even better, as you get to hear it in teh author's own voice.

Brilliant
This funny, honest, insightful and wonderfully written book is brilliant. It reminds you that being different is something to be valued (a sentiment which I am sure everyone can relate to), and that it doesn't matter where you started in life - it's what you strive for that counts.