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We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation Paperback – August 2, 2022
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“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, DC. 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
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarvest
- Publication dateAugust 2, 2022
- Dimensions5 x 1 x 8 inches
- ISBN-10035869714X
- ISBN-13978-0358697145
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"We're Not Broken is a lyrical mix of myth-busting, memoir, history, field interviews, and straight-up advice on how to better understand the autism spectrum, how to talk about it, and why it impacts every one of us." — NPR
“Outstanding…Garcia’s book uses rich storytelling and insightful reporting to uncover not only the long history of how autistic people have been mistreated but also how they continue to be ignored…'We’re Not Broken' is exactly the book we need to lead the way in changing the autism conversation. It belongs on the shelf next to ‘NeuroTribes’ as essential reading on autism and neurodiversity.” — Washington Post
"We're Not Broken is a landmark book at a crucial moment in history, when autistic people are finally being recognized as the ultimate authority on their own lives. Surveying the whole autism landscape - from federal policy to intimate relationships - with heart, insight, and wit, Garcia's book will inspire generations of people on the spectrum to realize their fullest potential." — - Steve Silberman, New York Times best-selling author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
"A bold and progressive exploration of autism in America today, We’re Not Broken is an instant classic. Whether it’s demystifying policy or profiling the next generation of autistic leaders, Garcia’s story is guided by a simple principle: let autistic people articulate their own needs. In that way, to read this book is to listen to them.” — - Ron Fournier, New York Times best-selling author and journalist
“Eric Michael Garcia has written a powerful and immensely clarifying book. We're Not Broken is more than a book about politics, autism and disability. It is an essential meditation on the many ways of being human." — - Zachary D. Carter, New York Times best-selling author of The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
“In this groundbreaking and important book, reporter Eric Garcia uses in-depth interviews, media reports, and the most up-to-date scientific research to write a new narrative about autism. Turning his investigative skills inward, he plumbs his own life as an autistic person to tell the definitive story of how such a common condition came to be so misunderstood. We're Not Broken is essential, humane, and necessarily provocative reading.” — - Jill Filipovic, author of Ok, Boomer, Let’s Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind
"Garcia’s strength is his ability to potently mix policy analysis (he covers the pros and cons of Medicaid’s Home and Community-Based Services Waivers, for example), reporting, and personal experience. This powerful account is packed with insight." — Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Eric Garcia is the author of several novels, including Matchstick Men, which was made into a feature film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Nicolas Cage, and the Anonymous Rex series. A native of Miami, Florida, he now lives in Southern California with his wife, two daughters, and a dog.
Product details
- Publisher : Harvest (August 2, 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 035869714X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0358697145
- Item Weight : 8.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5 x 1 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #93,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #124 in Journalist Biographies
- #125 in Autism Spectrum Disorder
- #3,364 in Memoirs (Books)
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Autism IS political, that's the whole point he's making. And it's not about parents because unless the parents are autistic too, then autism isn't about them.
I bought this book after seeing Mr. Garcia speak at a conference in July of 2022. He said certain things that resonated so deeply with me as a special education advocate, and parent of an autistic teen. One of them was: "Fully abled people believe that independence for a disabled person means having a job and living alone. But that is not what it means to disabled people. What it means to us is participating in the decisions that affect our lives." Wow.
The other thing he said was, "I know it's hard (for parents) to cede control over your child in a world that isn't built for them. But that's what you have to do, because they deserve to lead their own lives with their own intentions, not as an extension of what you want for them."
So I ask all of you to consider that when you read this book. Let yourself be humble enough to open your mind to what he has to say. His is just one voice, for sure -- and there is room for disagreement where everyone can still be right. But he lives what neurotypical people are supposedly trying to understand. So to not allow him his right to speak in the way he deems appropriate about the life he leads and what he thinks about the issues facing his peers? Well, that's just missing the whole point.
I'm also reading this aloud to my autistic teen (he can read but struggles with ocular motor with standard print) and he's captivated. He doesn't agree with all of it, because he, like Mr. Garcia, is an individual with thoughts and opinions of his own regarding his lived experience.
TL, DR: Check your ableist assumptions and just buy and read this book to learn a thing or two about autism.
Eric did a great job talking about education, work and housing. Eric also touched base on housing and relationships. One of my favorite parts was that the author touched base on the controversial history of autism because it is so important for us to remember the past so we don't repeat it in the future.
I highly recommend this to any parent or educator who needs a more inside perspective of autism. The individuals interviewed for this book gave us a glimpse into their lives and it was much appreciated.
Although this book is heavily laden with political references and agendas, there is plenty to glean from the autistic author, Eric Garcia. I was hesitant early in the book, wondering if the progress that he had made in his journey could remotely identify with ours.
Working as a political journalist and war correspondent, Garcia has forged his way through his autistic life and learned much along the way. He shares plenty of personal insights, as well as helpful words from a wide variety of people on our spectrum:
“Too many times,” she said, “autistic people are told if they like things that deviate from the norm, those things don’t count as fulfilling, particularly if they have significant support needs. But a good, happy life looks like someone who is in charge of their life, and who is connected to the community, who is doing things that are important to them…not someone who is doing a 9-to-5 job and living on their own and meeting all the milestones,” she said.
Eric Garcia, “We’re Not Broken,” on Julia Bascom, Executive Director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN),
Although he is well versed and sounds well connected in Washington DC, he shares some of his own day-to-day struggles as he navigates his neurodiverse life in the capital. Many of his quandaries feel familiar and keep the autism fellowship engaged. This book is worth delving into, no matter where you find yourself on the spectrum.
By the time I was finished, I had realized that this book helps to crush the tendency to view autism on a high-functioning/low-functioning basis. “We’re Not Broken,” with clarity, exposes our neurodiverse community to the fact that no matter how this spectrum touches you, you are family.
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2021
Top reviews from other countries
You've set the benchmark in terms of books about autism with We're Not Broken which is a wide ranging exploration of autism and different issues around autistic people. However there could be more perspectives added including dissenting voices and there could also be more information on developments outside the USA including in Britain where The Autism Act as well as Disability Discrimination Act were passed as well as other countries like Australia or Japan. It could also include more dissenting opinions from autistic people themselves as well as "ordinary" . However what it does do brilliantly is place an account of an autistic professionals experience in the context of the wider autism scene.
Overall We're Not Broken is a critical addition to the autism and neurodiversity canon that opens up doors for greater discussion by autistic people driving forward what has been done by existing books such as Concepts of Normality edited by Wenn Lawson. I look forward to see what Garcia writes next whether about autism or politics more widely.
It is very informative concerning the current legal background to support and recognition for US citizens who are autistic, and about the history of that legal framework, also concerning the state and history of advocacy (i) on their behalf, and (ii) by autistic people themselves.
I thought also that chapters 4 (about housing and autism), 6 (about relationships and autism), 7 (about gender and autism) and 8 (about race and autism) were well-informed.
Much of what the author wrote, though focused on the USA, is of relevance here in the UK. I’d recommend reading the book, whatever your level of knowledge and whatever your personal experiences.
I was very interested in two documents to which the author made reference: (a) in the book, he discusses ‘Shared Living’, for which I found the original 'Arizona' overview on line; (b) I found on line and read the short, to-the-point, criticism from an autistic perspective of J K Rowling’s alarm about the rise of expressed discomfort with assigned binary genders among young people who were assigned female at birth, especially among those who are also autistic, a phenomenon which has occurred here in the UK as well as in the USA.