We're Not Broken

Changing the Autism Conversation

De: Eric Garcia

Narrado por: Eric Garcia

“This book is a message from autistic people to their parents, friends, teachers, coworkers and doctors showing what life is like on the spectrum. It’s also my love letter to autistic people. For too long, we have been forced to navigate a world where all the road signs are written in another language.”

With a reporter’s eye and an insider’s perspective, Eric Garcia shows what it’s like to be autistic across America.

Garcia began writing about autism because he was frustrated by the media’s coverage of it; the myths that the disorder is caused by vaccines, the narrow portrayals of autistic people as white men working in Silicon Valley. His own life as an autistic person didn’t look anything like that. He is Latino, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and works as a journalist covering politics in Washington D.C. Garcia realized he needed to put into writing what so many autistic people have been saying for years; autism is a part of their identity, they don’t need to be fixed.

In We’re Not Broken, Garcia uses his own life as a springboard to discuss the social and policy gaps that exist in supporting those on the spectrum. From education to healthcare, he explores how autistic people wrestle with systems that were not built with them in mind. At the same time, he shares the experiences of all types of autistic people, from those with higher support needs, to autistic people of color, to those in the LGBTQ community. In doing so, Garcia gives his community a platform to articulate their own needs, rather than having others speak for them, which has been the standard for far too long.

Read by the Author.

Everyone should read this book

This book is excellent. Eric presents his story straight forward, giving insights to his lived autistic experience. I would recommend everyone read this, so that autism is understood, accepted, & normalized.

Excellent Book

It was good to hear the perspective from the author, a person living with autism.

Intuitively Hearty

I recommend everyone reads this book. even if you have someone in your life that lives with special needs - everyone should understand this perspective and respect, cherish and uphold it. I have a younger brother with special needs/on the spectrum and not enough people are open enough to learning more about how we should be accommodate them and their needs, wishes and desires. The book is riveting, gut wrenching and enlightening all at the same. must read.

Best Book on Autism I’ve Ever Read

This book is fantastic and I’ll be recommending it to everyone. I love how the author talks about autism generally and also ties it back to his experiences and other autistics experiences. I love that so many different experiences were included in the book. I love that he talked about autism in the context of being queer, trans, and BIPOC. I relate a lot to the gal with POTS and Erythromyalgia as I have both and other illnesses. I also love the chapter on waivers and long term care as i am on a waiver and not many are familiar with them. So much is included in this book. It was a good fast read. Usually takes me a few weeks or s month to read a book, but finished this one in 5 days.

Insightful look into autistic individuals

I loved it. This book means a lot to my as someone who wasn't diagnosed with autism until adulthood (23). It covers a variety of aspects of autism and clearly explained a lot of background information about the roles of parent advocates and autistic self advocates. The negative reviews I saw focus on the book's inclusion of politics. As the other is a political journalist and autism advocacy requires engagement with politicians, this was unavoidable. The author handles this appropriately, with nonpartisan criticisms of members of both parties when they speak inaccurately about autism, particularly in regards to vaccine misinformation. I feel seen and heard in this book.