Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asperger's

BOOK NAME: Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's

AUTHOR NAME: John Elder Robison

Look Me in the Eye is an amazing novel describing the life of a boy struggling from asperger's syndrome. This was my first time reading a book on a topic like this, and I would definitely recommend it to people who are interested in the human mind. I decided to read this book for that reason, to read a story that describes life through a human mind that is not quite like your own. The book is written entirely from the memories and thoughts of John Elder Robison. His humor matches perfectly with each situation he describes, and his reflections are incredibly thoughful. The book was written to express John's story in a way that no one had understood or thought about before. I encourage everyone to read his story.

Above is the cover of Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison. The boy on the cover represents John as a kid, not being able to look someone directly in the eye. The cover itself gives the reader a brief idea of what and whom the story will be about.

Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison is a true coming of age story. The beginning of the book
is such a contrast to the end of the book, that you wouldn't think that it was the same boy throughout the story. Yes, his autism fades away, but his memories and stories do not. The first chapter of the book begins the story with John as a toddler, playing in a yard with his classmates. In this scene he tries to make a friend by stealing other kids' toy trucks and patting their heads. John Elder had longed to connect and create relationships with other people, however he found that the people whom he tried to connect with did not want so longingly to connect with him.

The asperger's syndrome was not widely known or even talked about during the 1970s and 80s. John Elder Robison was growing up in a time in which the nation had not yet grasped the ideas and meaning of what it means to be diagnosed with asperger's, in fact, John Elder himslef had not known. As a child, his family and friends who had grown up with him knew something was different about him.

Many who are diagnosed with asperger's syndrome show a particular interest in a specific topic or activity. For example, an aspergian may have an intense interest in the structure of plant cells. In Look Me in the Eye, John Elder had an instense interest in dismantling radios and fixing his old car. Both of these interests John Elder pursues when he is older, except the radios turned into sound systems and his old car became the cars of other people. John Elder became incredibly succecful and discovered things he had not known about himself before. His particular childhood interests morphed into well paying jobs.


John Elder Robison is an amazing author and person. He grasped in detail what it is like to lack important social skills, as well as an understanding of emotions and the people around you. John Elder not only tells readers about his problems relating to his autism, but also his family life and career. His story is an influential and important story to read about and I think every one should take some time to buy, borrow, or lend the book.


If you are interested in other books or more information about John Elder Robison, look at his website here: John Elder Robison's Website

Look Me in the Eye

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Aspergers

John Elder Robinson

Author: John Elder Robinson

       To many, it would seem that John Elder Robinson had led an electrifying life but to him, it was a twisted, painful game. As mentioned in Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson, as a child he never really had a home. He consistently moved because his parents didn't have job security. Each time his family would move he would try to develop new friends, but consistently got rejected by numerous children. This was because he had Asperger syndrome and hadn't developed the feeling of empathy that naturally guides most people in their interactions with others. He couldn't understand why a dog would be happy with a pat on the head while a child would not. When he was trying his very best to be kind, others would see it as bad behavior, but even with this major set-back, John Elder was able to lead a successful life.

The book Look Me in the Eye

       As a child, John had shown many signs of Asperger syndrome, but living in the 1970's and 80's, Aspergers wasn't a well-known developmental disorder. For example, at age 13 he was given an electronics set and electronics book. Within a year of obtaining the electronics kit and books, he was approaching college level electronics and engineering. At age 11, he found abandoned Porsche (cars) and quickly memorized almost every model. He also realized that he wouldn't necessarily want to be rich and buy a car, but he wanted to be a craftsman. He didn't care about the salary, he just wanted to see his work grow in front of his eyes.

      This desire of electronics and a hands-on job continued into John Elder's young-adulthood. After completing high school at age 16 with 96 on the GED, John Elder continued tampering with electronics in the music industry. He started a career of repairing guitar amps for local musicians and while the famous band, KISS, was in town, he repaired one of their amps and was taken on by their management as a permanent member of their AV crew. Again in this job, he realized he didn't care about the fame and the fortune, but the reaction of the audience when a member of KISS would activate a crazy embellishment on their guitar made his day. As John Elder moved on to a different area of expertise in the working world, he again faced issues of salary vs. happiness with a job. While working in a toy manufacturing company, Milton Bradley, he decided to climb the corporate ladder, but soon realized the higher he climbed, the more people-skills he needed rather than technical-skills. The trait for people-skills weren't compatible with John Elder's Aspergers and he understood that it was best for him to work with a lower title, in order for job security and ultimately happiness. In the end, John Elder found being a professor of philosophy at Amherst College as the best-suited job for him.

       Even before his diagnoses, John Elder was able to construct a somewhat-normal family. His first wife, Mary Trompke, or Little Bear, as John called her, was his high school love. She and John had a son, Jack Robinson, or Bear Cub. John shared a strong bond with Cubby and would bring him on adventure days, tell him stories, and as a child, Cubby loved the game called "baby toss." Cubby also had Asperger syndrome, but to a lesser extent than John Elder. Little Bear and John Elder later got divorced, and John remarried to Martha or Unit 2. Unit 2 also had Aspergers, but that didn't stop her or John from leading a fulfilling life.

        John Elder was diagnosed by his psychiatrist friend, TR Rosenberg. TR had noticed John Elder's tendency's of "marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors, difficulty in developing relationships, lack of sharing achievements or interests, lack of social and/or emotional reciprocity" (  ). John Elder was thrilled to learn that the things people said to him as a child, that he was arrogant, aloof, or unfriendly, were wrong. His label of Aspergers delighted him, since it meant he would be under the category of people who become ultimate experts in any field that compels them and that he wasn't defective, but that he was better than normal; he was an essential part of much creative genius.

John Robinson's other book on his
experience with Aspergers 

        I think John Elder uses his wit and dry humor to take the reader on the journey of his life with an undiagnosed disorder while expanding the reader's mind and giving them the perspective from a different world. I think John's story is thick with the relatable awkwardness of everyday life, love and passion. From his beginning as a 13-year-old boy with a passion for electronics to his career as a self-taught engineer, John Elder's story is perfectly illustrated. 

        I believe that John mainly wrote this book for those individuals trying to handle a personal, extremely complicated, and audacious  lifestyle. No matter what you are going through, John portrays that there will always be hope and even in a cave of darkness, there is light. You might have to go through rough times to find that light, but you will find it. I recommend this book to anyone interested in someone simply surviving a roller coaster of a life or how to cope with a developmental issue.