Hard Landings

Looking into the Future for a Child with Autism

By: Cammie McGovern

Narrated by: Cammie McGovern

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A game-changing exploration of what the future holds for the first generation of mainstreamed neurodiverse kids that is coming of age.

After sleepless nights, intensive research, and 21 years of raising a child, Ethan, with autism and intellectual disability, Cammie McGovern is approaching a distinct catch-22. Once Ethan turns 22, he will fall off the "disability cliff". By aging out of the school system, he'll lose access to most social, educational, and vocational resources. The catch is this: These resources, limited as they may be, have trained Ethan in skills for jobs that don't exist and a life he can't have.

Here, McGovern expands on her number one New York Times piece, "Looking into the Future for a Child with Autism", a future that often appears grim, with statistics like an 85 percent unemployment rate for people with ID. McGovern spent a year traveling the country and looking at the options for work and housing - and to her surprise discovered reasons to be optimistic. She asks the tough questions: What should parents prioritize as they ready their children for adulthood? How do we redefine success for our children? How can we sustain a hopeful attitude while navigating one obstacle after another?

As Ethan makes his way into the world, McGovern also looks into the hardest question of all: How can we ensure an independent future when we're gone? Hard Landings will serve as a renewed beacon of hope for parents who want to ensure the fullest life possible for their child's future.

©2021 Cammie McGovern (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"An urgent, eye-opening look at the many systemic and well-intentioned ways adults with IDD are thwarted from living full lives. In this brave and important book, Cammie McGovern, a devoted mother, gifted writer, and tireless seeker of frontline problem-solvers, scours the country for successful solutions while asking herself the most searing and essential questions. And while much of what she finds can be frustrating, even confounding, the dignity and determination of her mission, and the passion and humanity of the advocates she meets, will make readers feel less alone and genuinely hopeful." (Rachel Simon, New York Times best-selling author of Riding the Bus with My Sister and The Story of Beautiful Girl)

"Hard Landings is a fiercely intelligent book - patiently researched, conscionably hopeful, deeply essential. It is also a riveting read, powered by a mother’s certain love." (Beth Kephart, National Book Award finalist and author of Wife | Daughter | Self: A Memoir in Essays)

"A brave and beautiful book - an indelible, soul-searching work of memoir and reportage in which Cammie McGovern crisscrosses America in hopes of learning what the future might hold for her autistic son. Combining a reporter’s eye with an activist’s passion, a mother’s ferocity with a poet’s sensibility, McGovern gives voice to one of the more pressing human-rights issues of our time: the millions of unseen neurodiverse people whose needs - starting with dignity and respect - remain unmet in our society. I was so moved and lifted by this book, by the people we meet here, and by McGovern’s empathy, wisdom, and humor. Truly - it's a book you won’t forget." (Michael Paterniti, author of The Telling Room and Love and Other Ways of Dying)

Very well written and read.

loved it! timely, well presented, and eye opening. as a mother of a young man aging out of the school system and child programs, Cammie has taken her knowledge of the topic and mixed it with her wonderful style of writing and .. who better to open our eyes and get people thinking and acting for a better tomorrow with softer landings for future kids.

Educational and Informative

Thank you Ms. McGovern for your ability to pull together the historical, political and cultural background to explain where we are and why we are there. You made it interesting, relevant and powerful. This helps us families of children with autism know what we are contending with. Great job!