Far from the Tree (book)

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Has anyone read the book "Far from the Tree" ? I recently finished it and found the chapter on autism greatly upsetting. All the personal stories were of individuals with severe autism. Most unpotty trained, unable to speak, some unable to walk. I know it's a huge spectrum, but these individuals clearly had far more than just autism. Most seemed severely intellectually delayed and physically handicapped. The whole book was depressing and did not cover, in my opinion, what true autism is. When people have several debilitating disorders, and autism is among them, are they truly the best group to focus on in a chapter specifically about autism? I think not.

I wonder - have they ever released a boy of autism stories that covered the gamut from mild to severe?

I have read the book and have found it, on the whole, enjoyable. Andrew Solomon does tend to bring out the most negative aspects of each culture; for the cases of schizophrenia, he used mainly those with a very severe and degenerative form of the disorder; for the chapter on childhood musical prodigies, he uses mostly cases of harsh, demanding, "Tiger Mom" parents; the chapter on sexual assault had mostly mothers who partially or wholly rejected their children (though this may be the case of this demographic in general, in which case I apologize). (To his credit, though, the chapter on transgenderism did include some very accepting, open-minded parents). The point of the book, however, is to use the most devastating, depressing situations that a parent can be in and to find light in spite of it, possibly in an attempt to justify his own parents' reactions to his homosexuality.

I do agree, though, that the book may have benefited from including the broader range of all of these spectrums and demographics.