Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's | 
 enlarge | Author: John Elder Robison
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  144 reviews
Sales Rank: 15020
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0307395987
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.1968588320092
EAN: 9780307395986
ASIN: 0307395987
Publication Date: September 25, 2007
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Product Description
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 the 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 moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger’s at a time when the diagnosis simply didn’t exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as “defective,” who could not avail himself of KISS’s endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people’s given names (he calls his wife “Unit Two”). He 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 and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.
Ultimately, this 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 139 more reviews...
 Look Me In The Eye September 2, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Aspergers by John Robison ***1/2
Look Me In The Eye can at times be hard to swallow. While it is interesting to see how the disease effected Robison's life that is as far as the book goes with merit. Being the brother of well known and highly regarded author Augusten Burroughs he had big shoes to fill, and for his first outing he does fine. Also being his brother it is very interesting to see how the two both came out of their childhoods some what normal.
As they are brothers a lot of the stories told here have been told by Burroughs in his work before this. So the reader would hope to get a new perspective on the events and see it from someone else view. Well they are told the same way making the book seem boring at times.
Robison's stories often become very technical (due in part to his disorder), making some of the stories boring. The parts and things he used to build something are not nearly as interesting as what he did with those parts and he doesn't get that. This is also in part to his disorder.
But to see his struggle with his parents on top of his personal demons is fascinating and entertaining as a memoir. To see a man overcome his demons is always uplifting and wonderful to witness. For that Look Me In The Eye is not a total loss.
If you have the patience this is a nice read as well as an eye opening one...no pun intended.
 Humorous Hijinks From an Asperger's Life August 27, 2008
"Look Me in the Eye" by John Elder Robison is a compelling look at Asperger's Syndrome through the life of one who never let his condition slow him down. Robison, the brother of memoirist Augusten Burroughs, is a compelling storyteller and perhaps more interesting than his struggles and discoveries as a person living with Asperger's are his insights into his messed-up childhood, his hjinks as a young man living on his own, his sound engineering work with KISS, and his years in the corporate world. An enjoyable read. Grade: B.
 Look me in the eye, My Life with Aspergers August 24, 2008
Excellent book, good insights into what life is like for an Aspy. Reccomend for all families who are effected by this curve that life throws us.
Not what you expect August 13, 2008
This book is entertaining and well written, but it does not give the information on Asperger's that I was seeking. The author shares more about his upbringing with incompetent parents than the issues associated with having Asperger's. When reading this book it is hard to separate what trials he endured because of Asperger's and what were based on poor parenting.
Different kind of book.. July 29, 2008
Do not read this book and expect to learn all about Asperger's. It is a memoir of the author's life with it. If you are looking for an education on AS, then look to a medical text or web site. Other reviewers are complaining about that aspect, but this is not a textbook. It is an interesting memoir written from the point of view of someone whose point of view is very different and unique from the rest of the world. Other reviewers are also complaining that the book doesn't flow and the writing isn't very colorful. That is true, but it is because of the author's AS. If the editor encouraged the author to change his style then it wouldn't really be written with the outlook of someone with Asperger's Syndrome. The book is unlike most other books because there really is no overall theme, some of the writing is choppy, some parts go too much into description about minute things, but I found this to be interesting because it gave me a glimpse into the mind of someone with AS. The book is not incredibly entertaining, funny, or enthralling, but it is different. Just be prepared for something unusual when reading it. The author's life isn't incredibly out of the ordinary, but the way he sees and does things are. I enjoyed this book, but I can't say that I would read a second book by this author.
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