Thanks to Kirkus Reviews for a wonderful review: A father celebrates his son’s differences and advises others on how to view autism as a parallel journey rather than a restrictive label. Chronicling son Ezra’s toddler years through his bar mitzvah, journalist Fields-Meyer approaches autism from a topical perspective, creating a loving tribute that favors “following” his [...]
Monthly Archives: August 2011
‘A Very Good Book About Me.’
Our kids all returned yesterday from summer camp—a month for the younger two, nine weeks for our eldest, Ami, who was a counselor. They all love camp, so returning home brings (in addition to a lot of laundry) some mixed emotions. They get a home cooked meal, but then their parents have to remind them [...]
Questions, Answers, and Stories
The other day I spent an hour filling out yet another set of forms for Ezra. A few months ago, his class in school participated in a new program aimed at teaching social skills to children with autism spectrum disorders. A university study is evaluating the approach’s effectiveness, so they had asked parents to answer [...]
‘Booklist’ Review: ‘Sweet, Funny, Uplifting.’
Thanks to Booklist, the American Library Assocation’s book review journal, for a rave review of Following Ezra in its August issue. Online access requires membership, but here’s the full text: In this sweet, funny memoir about his son, a former People magazine writer and editor manages to destigmatize autism better than any medical book has [...]
Lessons in Jumping for Joy
[Also on Huffington Post] At first I thought it was an earthquake. I was lying in bed when I felt the house shake–thud, thud, thud–and then I heard a voice just outside the bedroom shouting something I couldn’t quite make out. Somebody was jumping up and down. It was my son Ezra. “It’s February first!” [...]