Kirkus
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An advocate for autistic children reflects on life with her son, Cooper, who was born with severe autism. When a premarital counselor asked Swenson and her boyfriend at the time, Jamie, how they would cope with the challenges of caring for a child on the autism spectrum, they balked. “What a silly question,” she writes. “That would not happen to us. He went on to briefly talk about the stress of hav-ing children, and how a child with special needs intensifies it. I remember not being jarred by the question, not in the slightest. I mean, we were healthy and invincible.” After suffering a miscarriage, the couple’s second pregnancy resulted in Cooper, who could not be comforted by touch. Cooper mystified the author and made her an outsider to the “exclusive club” of mothers with so-called “normal” children. As she struggled to make sense of her situation and the attendant personal and financial challenges, Jamie distanced himself. Though they divorced, they became more committed to giving their children—especially Cooper, who had been diagnosed with severe, language-impeding autism—“their best life.” Finally able to work as a team, she and Jamie fought doctors and schools to give Cooper what he needed, and they remarried each other. Despite their loving care, Cooper was subject to fits of rage so violent that they feared for the safety of their other children. The author, creator of the blog Finding Cooper’s Voice, finally decided to medicate Cooper to ameliorate the anxiety that stalked him, despite her fear that drugs would turn him into a “zombie.” The result was miraculous. Much calmer in general, Cooper began to build a small vocabulary that helped him emerge from the lonely world in which he had been trapped. This wise, inspiring book will appeal to not only parents of children with autism, but anyone interested in stories about the selflessness and endurance of maternal love. A candid and hopeful addition to the personal literature on pediatric autism. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.