To Siri with Love

A Mother, Her Autistic Son, and the Kindness of Machines

By: Judith Newman

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart

Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of the viral New York Times op-ed column "To Siri with Love" comes a collection of touching, hilarious, and illuminating stories about life with a 13-year-old boy with autism that hold insights and revelations for us all.

When Judith Newman shared the story of how Apple's electronic personal assistant, Siri, helped Gus, her son who has autism, she received widespread media attention and an outpouring of affection from listeners around the world. Basking in the afterglow of media attention, Gus told anyone who would listen, "I'm a movie star".

Judith's story of her son and his bond with Siri was an unusual tribute to technology. While many worry that our electronic gadgets are dumbing us down, she revealed how they can give voice to others, including children with autism like Gus - a boy who has trouble looking people in the eye, hops when he's happy, and connects with inanimate objects on an empathetic level.

To Siri with Love is a collection of funny, poignant, and uplifting stories about living with an extraordinary child who has helped a parent see and experience the world differently. From the charming (Gus weeping with sympathy over the buses that would lie unused while the bus drivers were on strike) to the painful (paying $22,000 for a behaviorist in Manhattan to teach Gus to use a urinal) to the humorous (Gus' insistence on getting naked during all meals, whether at home or not, because he does not want to get his clothes dirty) to the profound (how an automated "assistant" helped a boy learn how to communicate with the rest of the world), the stories in To Siri with Love open our eyes to the magic and challenges of a life beyond the ordinary.

©2017 Judith Newman (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Very Entertaining

definitely recommend, but I would not re-read. written in a way that made me feel like I was having a conversation with the author. not appropriate for children. very emotional in parts.

Good until...

I really enjoyed this story until mom said she had thought about castrating her son... couldn’t do it after that....

Amazing! Thank you!

Very well written book about family relationship and yes autism. I have read this twice it was so good!

Sweet story about mother and son but feels incomplete

While this is a touching day to day story about the relationship between a mother and her autistic son, it feels like the ending is sudden and without much conclusion or resolve. Almost as if there should be a sequel... not sure if that's the authors intention

Worth recommending

This is the first time I’ve ever recommended a book, and I am a voracious reader and audible listener. I read reviews, I just don’t write them. I generally don’t read Autism books. I have 2 kids on the spectrum and I find written material on Autism to be repetitious and depressing. This book is real. Lots of depressing stuff we can all relate to, or at least those of us with Autism in our family, and yet she makes it funny and not so gloomy. Found myself continually laughing out loud.

I can’t get enough

Very well written, funny, honest, and, for me, relatable to the core. All this combined with an impecable voice talent delivery, have me listen to this book for two consecutive times. And I have the feeling there’ll be more. What a gift! Thank you, Judith Newman.

An incredible book about a relevant topic

I did not know what to expect when my friend recommended this book. My daughter is on the autism spectrum and it is not something that we have discussed with her yet. I kept hoping she would outgrow her tendencies if we did enough therapy with her, but I may be looking at it in the wrong way. This book was excellently written, the narrator was incredible with her voices and I recommend it.

Good book if you are new to ASD

But covers so much old ground if you are already familiar with families with autism. The SIRI part which was originally an article is fresh and her ironic slightly snarky tone is fun.

Interesting

I found the author to be extremely interesting and I wanted to know more about her journey in life, her relationship to her partner. This book was more or less short stories of her life with her two children. I thought I would walk away with insight on how Siri played more of a part in her child’s development. Over all it was interesting.