Fighting to fit in

Look Me in the Eye By John Elder Robison. Photo / Supplied

This is the story of how one man overcame unimaginable odds to live a successful and happy life. Being born to a drunken, abusive father and a schizophrenic mother would have been enough to crush the spirit of most children.

Add to this undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome and it is a wonder Robison survived at all. He is the brother of Augusten Burroughs (of Running With Scissors fame) but where Burroughs is emotive and extroverted, Robison is the polar opposite.

There are, however, two traits both undeniably share - the ability to tell a powerful story and a seemingly bottomless capacity for creativity. Robison grew up in small town USA. He shared his home with his Mother (Slave), his Father (Stupid) and his little brother (Varmint). He spent his formative years blowing up stuff while wondering why everyone kept telling him to get lost. Totally alienated from his peers and his dysfunctional family, he sought the company of machines, focusing mainly on car engines and electronics. They never judged or were mean to him. This book reminded me of Forrest Gump.

Like Gump, Robison leads a simple logical existence, but unexpected cool things seem to bump into him at regular intervals regardless. His intense focus on electronics led to a dream job in the late 70s, when he toured with the rock band Kiss. He hung out, designed guitars, worked the lighting, and solved all manner of problems.

Finally he fitted in. Interestingly, the one thing that Robison craved was the hardest to achieve - normalcy. He didn't really want to tour with a rock band; he wanted a regular job, a home, a wife and a child. Robison spent the first 40 years of his life believing he was just a weird misfit.

But on the day he was diagnosed with Asperger's, his life finally made sense. He was not alone, there were others like him. This book is a rare glimpse into the life of an individual with Asperger's Syndrome. They can be brilliantly focused and creative people, yet at times insular, lost and hopeless.

Robison has been all of these and more. His book is inspirational reading, and proof that those who don't quite fit in the box make the world a far more interesting place than it would otherwise be.

Look Me in the Eye
By John Elder Robison (Bantam $27.99)

* Steve Scott is an Auckland reviewer.