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 been able to do. His son, blessed with an amazing memory, asks people for their date of birth, then rapidly names a film released on that day: “Movie-cameout-on-your-birthday-was ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ November 13, 1991.” But such anecdotes never get saccharine, since Fields-Meyer also gives the not-always-happily-ever-after denouement, in this case adding, “The encounters are considerably less compelling when he discovers that an acquaintance was born in, say, mid-September or early January, annual lulls in animated movie releases.” Another charming tidbit: In his acknowledgments, the author thanks his son for helping him pinpoint when an event occurred: “‘That was in April of 2004,’ he’d say, ‘a Sunday, three weeks after the release of Disney’s ‘Home on the Range.’ If you ever consider writing a memoir, I highly recommend enlisting the help of someone with a superhuman memory.” This is an uplifting book that can be highly recommended to parents of kids with autism. – Karen Springen
