You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
themarshhag 's review for:
We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
by Eric Garcia
DID NOT FINISH: 30%
DNF in the middle of chapter 3 of 9. After swearing fervently that this book would NOT be focused on the author but will rather tell the stories of numerous different autistic people from different walks of life, the author proceeds to focus the book entirely on himself in ways that frequently in no way involve his autism diagnosis but rather feel like an opportunity to simply talk himself up.
The times that Garcia does tell the stories of different people who he has interviewed, he introduces them with 0 prelude or context, throws in a quote or two, and then continues to tell his own story. While he repeatedly *states* that he knows his own experience is not indicative of all autistic people and that he has had the privilege of support, he does not reflect this claim in his actual writing as he repeatedly turns to his own experiences (with supportive parents including a stay at home mom, an early diagnosis, accommodations throughout both school and college, easy access to community activities such as college journalism, and a White House internship) as somehow indicative of the autistic experience.
I strongly believe that the level of support that Garcia received and continues to receive in life should be the norm. As a late diagnosed autistic person, I am so happy that Garcia was given the resources he deserved and needed to thrive. However, it feels inauthentic when Garcia writes things like how he's not entirely self-sufficient because he has a cleaning person and food delivery while simultaneously using his platform as a high-profile political journalist as an opportunity to write a book that purports to advocate for autistic people of all walks of life but feels like little more than a self-agrandizing testiment to his own success.
The times that Garcia does tell the stories of different people who he has interviewed, he introduces them with 0 prelude or context, throws in a quote or two, and then continues to tell his own story. While he repeatedly *states* that he knows his own experience is not indicative of all autistic people and that he has had the privilege of support, he does not reflect this claim in his actual writing as he repeatedly turns to his own experiences (with supportive parents including a stay at home mom, an early diagnosis, accommodations throughout both school and college, easy access to community activities such as college journalism, and a White House internship) as somehow indicative of the autistic experience.
I strongly believe that the level of support that Garcia received and continues to receive in life should be the norm. As a late diagnosed autistic person, I am so happy that Garcia was given the resources he deserved and needed to thrive. However, it feels inauthentic when Garcia writes things like how he's not entirely self-sufficient because he has a cleaning person and food delivery while simultaneously using his platform as a high-profile political journalist as an opportunity to write a book that purports to advocate for autistic people of all walks of life but feels like little more than a self-agrandizing testiment to his own success.