Look Me in the Eye

My Life with Asperger's

By: John Elder Robison

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

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 40 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.

©2007 John Elder Robison (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Thoughtful and thoroughly memorable." ( Publishers Weekly)

Upbeat and yet...

Would you consider the audio edition of Look Me in the Eye to be better than the print version?

Listening to the story was upbeat and yet covered a serious subject and John told about his life effected by Aspergers. After reading his brother's book a was a bit concerned it might be to extreme but it really helps define Aspergers and how one can have a happy life. As I couldn't help laughing at many parts in the book. Loved listening to the story!

What did you like best about this story?

The funny vignettes into John's life.

What about Mark Deakins’s performance did you like?

Mark's voice was pleasing and helped lend to the emotion of the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have loved to listen in one sitting but I never have the amount of time. I did turn it on whenever I could!!!!

Any additional comments?

I have already recommended this book to friends.

I love his books

John is a fantastic storyteller. He has helped me understand that most autistic people have some superhero skill and his happens to be taking risks and telling stories. He's a fascinating person with an amazing array of experiences both good and bad. He is honest, kind, and authentic. He opens up his world so everyone can understand how the daily life and inner workings of a person with autism spectrum disorder functions. His stories explain behaviors I never understood, such as defiance or dark humor, to be responses to situations I didn't know might be going on for my own children. I see my boys through his eyes and I see my own behavior as a child so much more clearly. every one of his books are wonderful. this one is no exception.

Amazing Insight Into An Aspergian’s Mind!

Really enjoyed this book and it provided a lot of great insight into the mind of someone with high-functioning ASD, especially as it relates to Asperger’s. Lots of good information, stories, triumph, heartbreak, and even some really good laughs along the way!

Educational and entertaining

I really liked this audio book. It gives wonderful insight to a life of someone with Asperger’s. The main character is lovable and smart. All around good story.

Look me in the eye is a well written story of a man that is Asperger’s

Great book! Worth reading! Absolutely can appreciate his growth in life as an Aspergerian . Bravo!

Great look at ASD

As a society we all need to learn more about neurodiversity and embrace those who think differently. This book provides a great insight into the world of gifts and challenges of being in the spectrum.

Great insight into Aspergians

This book gives insight into the mind of an Aspergian and nails it. Fun story that gives you insight, laughter, and understanding.

Interesting autobiography; not autism-informative

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The author does not have any training in science, psychology, or logic; which is not a crime in itself, but he constantly uses "I'm autistic, so therefore I cannot help but think logically!" to explain away some very illogical lines of thought and fabricated narratives. As an autistic scientist myself, this drove me up the wall.

He comes up with a lot of mighty tempting narratives that sound pretty plausible, and states them as facts and logic (think: bad evolutionary psychology papers). Nobody is born with a solid grasp on logic or science, not even autistic people (although they might have a leg-up on the competition). This is why there is extensive coursework and schooling for these subjects.

I would have much preferred that the author frame this story as an interesting autobiography of somebody with a very weird and interesting life who happened to be autistic. Did his autism influence and affect his life and perception? Certainly it did, and that makes his accounts very interesting, but he should have left out his countless "autism teaching moments" where he pauses the story to say "now see, this is all because of my autism, clearly I had no choice and clearly I was the only logical one there."

I would have removed these parts, partly because they got repetitive and obnoxious, and mostly because there is no way to parse out how much of his reactions are due to his autism and how much are due to his traumatic and tumultuous childhood (or even some combination of both).

I love autism self-advocacy and I think it is very important, but he loves to make "scientific" and "psychiatric" evaluations of his actions post-hoc, when he doesn't have any training in these fields (and this is painfully obvious). Just as a woman is uniquely qualified to speak about her experiences and feelings as a woman, she cannot describe her own biology accurately unless she had received sufficient education in biology or performed sufficient biological studies and learned that way.

For these reasons, if you are interested in autism self-advocacy or you want to learn more about autism, I would suggest sticking to Rudy Simone or Temple Grandin instead. They are more scientifically-minded than John Elder Robison and are more versed in the nuances of autism and individual experiences. If you just want to read a fun autobiography from a man who had an incredibly unusual (even for an Aspergian) life and you don't necessarily need to learn anything about autism, then Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's will fit the bill. Because don't get me wrong, it was still a fun and exciting narrative.

Great book

loved it and helps me understand and confirm what my child lives with. wonderful book!

Phenomenal

Even if you’re not on the Autism spectrum, you will still enjoy this read. Not only is it an illuminating & raw look at one man’s life as an undiagnosed Aspergian, it’s a brilliantly written book, that will not only keep your attention, it also provides many moments of levity. If you are on the spectrum or if you know someone on the spectrum, don’t pass this book up!