Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I randomly found this book on the library shelf and decided to read it because my son has an Asperger's diagnosis. Yes, Noah, the author's brother, has low-functioning autism, so I knew the book content would be different from my experience. However, the book taught me a lot about autism treatments in the 60s and 70s. People like Noah underwent extremely harsh treatment and abuse in the name of curing autism. Because of them, my son has access to quality care that really works. The book was also insightful into the way families operate when an autism diagnosis is involved. Unfortunately, it was a slow read. I also felt betrayed toward the end when the author implemented creative writing to embellish the story. I would recommend this book, though, to anyone who's interested in autism, mental health, Japanese culture and the family dynamic in homes where someone has an autistic diagnosis. I picked this book up because I am a mother of two and my youngest does have Autism. Both are boys just like in this book and I thought it would give me some insight on how my oldest may feel about this or at least how the author dealt with things. Also how the parents handled them aging and their youngest still needing care. That said I didn't finish this book I gave it 50 pages and couldn't read one more. It was terribly written the author was ALL over the place all the time I found it hard to keep up and I got nothing from it at all. Often I found it confusing even after reading the same paragraph back again and it still made no sense. I didn't think I should torture myself with 300 more pages and put it down. I will find another book to hopefully give me what I wanted from this one.
What do You think about Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir (2009)?
I like the twist at the end of this dark, cynical memoir.
—Sophie
This is one of the saddest books I have ever read.
—Janet
