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lostinagoodbook's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent art and layout. Very easy to read and clear in intent. I am looking forward to getting the next volume. What a wonderful book about a condition so many children seem to have these days. I hope to learn a lot about Autism through this manga.
corinnet1's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
seawarrior's review against another edition
3.0
I came across this book in my college library and was interested in reading it since I myself am an autistic adult, and it's rare to find stories about people like me that are told with empathy for our own community and not just the abled people around us. While the author didn't accomplish that perfectly, it was clear that they tried. I definitely have mixed feelings about the way Hikaru's life is displayed, but I'll attempt to describe them briefly.
The beginning of this book was very difficult for me to read, and a few times I considered quitting. I can understand the frustration and exhaustion of raising an autistic child, but many allistic people behave as if their autistic family members have no internal thoughts and emotions and that verbally or physically assaulting them to force different behaviors is acceptable and won't lead to trauma the same way it would for any allistic child. The parents in this story become more compassionate as time goes on, but Hikaru's mother still states later on that she doesn't think Hikaru can connect or fully remember the times she's hit or screamed at him because he'd reach out for her affection later. This thinking greatly worries me.
A child still wanting their parents' comfort after being treated poorly is not an excuse to avoid apologizing to them. It doesn't mean they aren't still hurting either. Affection is a necessity for children, and if they cannot outsource what they need to other family members or friends they'll often times still turn to a parent who has upset them, something Hikaru's parents didn't seem to truly understand. Due to harsh treatment in youth from both caretakers and peers, many autistic people grow to maturity with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and worsening self-harming behaviors. Creating narratives that only empathize with the caretakers who mistreat us and downplay the suffering we endure at their hands is callous and dangerous to our opportunities to develop into healthy adults.
Pieces of this story in which Hikaru's parents reject him and even go as far as to say that they couldn't feel love for him for years were incredibly distressing to me. I also wasn't alright with autism being described in multiple places as a disease, although that could be a translation error. Either way, allistic people desperately need to grasp how those notions effect us well outside of individual thoughts and passive aggressive comments on the street. Some autistic children have been legitimately tortured and experimented on in attempts to 'cure' them of their autism, and autistic people can be denied for organ transplants in my country based on a diagnosis of autism alone. Acceptance of autistic people and the accommodations we require isn't just nice, but crucial to our survival.
On a lighter note, I still consider this to be one of the more empathic portrayals of an autistic character. I do wish that more attempts were made to understand Hikaru's thought processes and emotions, but it was heartening to see the great strides his family, teachers and doctors made to support him and create a welcoming environment where he would feel safe. Some parents of autistic children fail to realize that creative and compassionate solutions are what will create a happier life for the entire family, so I enjoyed seeing the communication devices and toys the adults working with Hikaru created to make the world more accessible for him. I was also relieved that his parents didn't force him to hide his autistic traits, and instead decided to vocally advocate for him whenever possible.
If you're a reader who isn't autistic, I urge you to not end your education of the autistic community and the way we experience the world with this one story. Much of the information in this book is outdated and autism is now understood to be a broader spectrum, with a variety of symptoms that weren't discussed in this work. It's also important to remember that no two autistic people have the same traits and personality, so if you've met one autistic person, you've only met one autistic person. By only reading one story, you will never be able to understand them all.
The beginning of this book was very difficult for me to read, and a few times I considered quitting. I can understand the frustration and exhaustion of raising an autistic child, but many allistic people behave as if their autistic family members have no internal thoughts and emotions and that verbally or physically assaulting them to force different behaviors is acceptable and won't lead to trauma the same way it would for any allistic child. The parents in this story become more compassionate as time goes on, but Hikaru's mother still states later on that she doesn't think Hikaru can connect or fully remember the times she's hit or screamed at him because he'd reach out for her affection later. This thinking greatly worries me.
A child still wanting their parents' comfort after being treated poorly is not an excuse to avoid apologizing to them. It doesn't mean they aren't still hurting either. Affection is a necessity for children, and if they cannot outsource what they need to other family members or friends they'll often times still turn to a parent who has upset them, something Hikaru's parents didn't seem to truly understand. Due to harsh treatment in youth from both caretakers and peers, many autistic people grow to maturity with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and worsening self-harming behaviors. Creating narratives that only empathize with the caretakers who mistreat us and downplay the suffering we endure at their hands is callous and dangerous to our opportunities to develop into healthy adults.
Pieces of this story in which Hikaru's parents reject him and even go as far as to say that they couldn't feel love for him for years were incredibly distressing to me. I also wasn't alright with autism being described in multiple places as a disease, although that could be a translation error. Either way, allistic people desperately need to grasp how those notions effect us well outside of individual thoughts and passive aggressive comments on the street. Some autistic children have been legitimately tortured and experimented on in attempts to 'cure' them of their autism, and autistic people can be denied for organ transplants in my country based on a diagnosis of autism alone. Acceptance of autistic people and the accommodations we require isn't just nice, but crucial to our survival.
On a lighter note, I still consider this to be one of the more empathic portrayals of an autistic character. I do wish that more attempts were made to understand Hikaru's thought processes and emotions, but it was heartening to see the great strides his family, teachers and doctors made to support him and create a welcoming environment where he would feel safe. Some parents of autistic children fail to realize that creative and compassionate solutions are what will create a happier life for the entire family, so I enjoyed seeing the communication devices and toys the adults working with Hikaru created to make the world more accessible for him. I was also relieved that his parents didn't force him to hide his autistic traits, and instead decided to vocally advocate for him whenever possible.
If you're a reader who isn't autistic, I urge you to not end your education of the autistic community and the way we experience the world with this one story. Much of the information in this book is outdated and autism is now understood to be a broader spectrum, with a variety of symptoms that weren't discussed in this work. It's also important to remember that no two autistic people have the same traits and personality, so if you've met one autistic person, you've only met one autistic person. By only reading one story, you will never be able to understand them all.
heyjudy's review against another edition
3.0
~3.5/5
I’ve been interested in this book ever since I first heard about it. And I’m glad I finally picked it up.
Sachiko Azuma is at first perfectly happy. She’s happily married to a business man and just gave birth to her first baby boy. But then her husband starts working more and is never happy when home. And her perfect baby boy cries all the time and doesn’t like it when she holds him. He acts different than the other kids, but Sachiko doesn’t know how to handle it.
When it gets so bad she can’t handle it, she has to accept that her son is autistic, and then she has a fight with her husband.
It’s really tough at times, and seemed really realistic. Harshly realistic, really. Because at this point, few people knew what autism was, and most believed that it was caused by the mother not raising the child correctly. Hikaru, her son, is definitely hard to get to know; he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t understand social conventions, he doesn’t like being touched. But slowly, Sachiko learns how to handle him, how to teach him in a way he’ll understand, and she meets people who understand and help her.
Living with autism is hard, and it takes a while for Sachiko to get used to it, to really understand it. But I like that she grew confident in herself and how she dealt with Hikaru, even in public. I especially liked that she didn’t try to hide it, that she was honest with everyone around her when it became apparent that something was odd with Hikaru. And it was nice that her husband and family backed her up about it.
I wasn’t sure where her marriage was going to go in the beginning, because her husband was just a jerk. But after their fight, when he gets overworked, he has to face reality and decide that being with his family is more important. I was really happy when he started really caring for Sachiko again, and when he started paying attention to Hikaru. That was really nice to see.
I was really impressed with this book. The writing is a little immature, rushed at times, but that got better throughout the book. Mostly, the look at autism was so realistic, and I was impressed with how it was handled. And not only with the Azuma’s household and family life, but the side characters have really realistic personalities and troubles.
I was really happy with this book, and I’m glad I picked it up.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
I’ve been interested in this book ever since I first heard about it. And I’m glad I finally picked it up.
Sachiko Azuma is at first perfectly happy. She’s happily married to a business man and just gave birth to her first baby boy. But then her husband starts working more and is never happy when home. And her perfect baby boy cries all the time and doesn’t like it when she holds him. He acts different than the other kids, but Sachiko doesn’t know how to handle it.
When it gets so bad she can’t handle it, she has to accept that her son is autistic, and then she has a fight with her husband.
It’s really tough at times, and seemed really realistic. Harshly realistic, really. Because at this point, few people knew what autism was, and most believed that it was caused by the mother not raising the child correctly. Hikaru, her son, is definitely hard to get to know; he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t understand social conventions, he doesn’t like being touched. But slowly, Sachiko learns how to handle him, how to teach him in a way he’ll understand, and she meets people who understand and help her.
Living with autism is hard, and it takes a while for Sachiko to get used to it, to really understand it. But I like that she grew confident in herself and how she dealt with Hikaru, even in public. I especially liked that she didn’t try to hide it, that she was honest with everyone around her when it became apparent that something was odd with Hikaru. And it was nice that her husband and family backed her up about it.
I wasn’t sure where her marriage was going to go in the beginning, because her husband was just a jerk. But after their fight, when he gets overworked, he has to face reality and decide that being with his family is more important. I was really happy when he started really caring for Sachiko again, and when he started paying attention to Hikaru. That was really nice to see.
I was really impressed with this book. The writing is a little immature, rushed at times, but that got better throughout the book. Mostly, the look at autism was so realistic, and I was impressed with how it was handled. And not only with the Azuma’s household and family life, but the side characters have really realistic personalities and troubles.
I was really happy with this book, and I’m glad I picked it up.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
bmurby's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this manga for many personal reasons. I have Aspergers which is also sometimes referred to as high functioning autism. However, I have never really understood how I related to those people on the other side of the spectrum. I was hoping that this book would clear up some of my confusion and help me to understand some of the similarities and differences that those with Aspergers share with other people on the spectrum. I can say that it definitely did! This book is heartwarming and beautiful while also being extremely educational. It dispels many common myths about autism while still being an entertaining story. I'm glad that there is more than one volume to this story and I'm excited to pick it up soon to continue to watch Hikaru grow!
My full review:
http://murbybooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/with-light-raising-autistic-child-review.html
My full review:
http://murbybooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/with-light-raising-autistic-child-review.html
noelles's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
shonaningyo's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful manga, a beautiful, sad, heart-wrenching, but with-a-glimmer-of-hope-story.
It is about a mother in Japan who gives birth to a boy named Hikaru. She is initially overjoyed that she has a bundle of joy to take care of, but soon he grows up and by toddler years she realizes there's something amiss. He screams and cries whenever she tries to hold him, he doesn't speak, he goes crazy and has a tantrum/crying fit whenever something really loud goes off (a bell, a slam of the door). She is branded as a terrible mother by her mother-in-law, and she is even told that Hikaru is deaf and will never be able to speak. Just as soon as she gives up hope that Hikaru will ever function right, she meets a doctor who diagnoses him with autism, then a practically unknown and obscure mental illness back in the 1990s, which I believe is the rough estimate of when this takes place, at least the last 90s.
There the door opens to counselors and other doctors who help her with the seemingly alien habits, mannerisms, and personality that Hikaru possesses, along with trying to steer her in the right direction when dealing with Hikaru, the best ways to nudge him in the right direction, and give her support and reassurance that 1) It is not her fault he's autistic 2) It will get better and 3) He will be able to function, just give it time and patience.
As a person with Asperger's Syndrome, what some call high-functioning and some call a 'mild form' of the mental disorder, my heart went out to both Hikaru and his mother. His mother because I understand that as a child I was pretty crazy. I hated change and would scream and cry when I didn't do what I thought was to be done i.e. 'I should've been the one to close the door! Why didn't I get to close the door?! ..' and 'What do you mean, preschool is over! I played my Candyland game for 2 hours, now it's time to go to preschool!'
And I obviously connected with Hikaru like we were one and the same most of the time because I understood how crazy the world was:
Examples:
I, even to this day at 16 years of age (as this is being typed), will shed a tear when I'm working on something and very focused and then suddenly, BAM! desk or chair gets tipped over and makes a loud noise. I am snapped out of my routine, the world is broken, if only for a second. The air is shattered by this noise, this noise that shouldn't have been made, and my senses -- my ears to be precise-- are overloaded by that sudden sound and I cry, but only for a minute before picking my self up again and resuming my work...
I also DESPISE change in routine. I need to be told ahead of time if something different will happen, like if we will be having an assembly at school instead of 7th and 8th period. I get annoyed and a little disgruntled but I used to scream and throw a tantrum because I couldn't cope with the fact that people were taking what I thought was fact and cutting and pasting something else into my daily routine. They changed it so easily, it unnerved me and made my head spin.
Anyways, enough about me. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about autism, especially about raising an autistic child. DON'T be discouraged, potential readers, by the fact that it is a Japanese comic, or manga , and is read right-to-left. It is worth the trouble learning how to read it, and it will charm you and make you root for this family as they struggle to make a life for Hikaru despite his mental setbacks.
It is about a mother in Japan who gives birth to a boy named Hikaru. She is initially overjoyed that she has a bundle of joy to take care of, but soon he grows up and by toddler years she realizes there's something amiss. He screams and cries whenever she tries to hold him, he doesn't speak, he goes crazy and has a tantrum/crying fit whenever something really loud goes off (a bell, a slam of the door). She is branded as a terrible mother by her mother-in-law, and she is even told that Hikaru is deaf and will never be able to speak. Just as soon as she gives up hope that Hikaru will ever function right, she meets a doctor who diagnoses him with autism, then a practically unknown and obscure mental illness back in the 1990s, which I believe is the rough estimate of when this takes place, at least the last 90s.
There the door opens to counselors and other doctors who help her with the seemingly alien habits, mannerisms, and personality that Hikaru possesses, along with trying to steer her in the right direction when dealing with Hikaru, the best ways to nudge him in the right direction, and give her support and reassurance that 1) It is not her fault he's autistic 2) It will get better and 3) He will be able to function, just give it time and patience.
As a person with Asperger's Syndrome, what some call high-functioning and some call a 'mild form' of the mental disorder, my heart went out to both Hikaru and his mother. His mother because I understand that as a child I was pretty crazy. I hated change and would scream and cry when I didn't do what I thought was to be done i.e. 'I should've been the one to close the door! Why didn't I get to close the door?! ..' and 'What do you mean, preschool is over! I played my Candyland game for 2 hours, now it's time to go to preschool!'
And I obviously connected with Hikaru like we were one and the same most of the time because I understood how crazy the world was:
Examples:
I, even to this day at 16 years of age (as this is being typed), will shed a tear when I'm working on something and very focused and then suddenly, BAM! desk or chair gets tipped over and makes a loud noise. I am snapped out of my routine, the world is broken, if only for a second. The air is shattered by this noise, this noise that shouldn't have been made, and my senses -- my ears to be precise-- are overloaded by that sudden sound and I cry, but only for a minute before picking my self up again and resuming my work...
I also DESPISE change in routine. I need to be told ahead of time if something different will happen, like if we will be having an assembly at school instead of 7th and 8th period. I get annoyed and a little disgruntled but I used to scream and throw a tantrum because I couldn't cope with the fact that people were taking what I thought was fact and cutting and pasting something else into my daily routine. They changed it so easily, it unnerved me and made my head spin.
Anyways, enough about me. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about autism, especially about raising an autistic child. DON'T be discouraged, potential readers, by the fact that it is a Japanese comic, or manga , and is read right-to-left. It is worth the trouble learning how to read it, and it will charm you and make you root for this family as they struggle to make a life for Hikaru despite his mental setbacks.
kricketa's review against another edition
4.0
i picked this up because it was next on my to-read manga, and wound up learning a lot about autism. really well-done and doesn't generalize too much. i have several teens on the autistic spectrum who come to my library events and they are all unique, so i like the way tobe keeps pointing out that all children with autism do not learn or experience the world in the same ways. really sweet and well-done story.
pata's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
melniksuzuki's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0