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Cover of Look Me in the Eye

Look Me in the Eye

John Elder Robison

450 pages

A darkly funny and deeply moving memoir that invites readers into the unique, machine-logic mind of a man navigating a world built for neurotypicals.

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What it feels like

Reading this memoir feels like sitting down with a natural storyteller who is finally able to explain a lifetime of feeling out of step with the world. The narrative moves at a brisk, engaging pace, balancing the heavy weight of childhood alienation and parental dysfunction with a wry, darkly funny tone. It immerses the reader in an introspective and deeply empathetic mood, offering a vivid window into a mind that finds comfort in the predictable logic of machines over the baffling nuances of human interaction. The prose is candid and straightforward, capturing the profound relief of self-discovery. It will delight readers looking for an authentic, humorous, and moving exploration of neurodivergence, resilience, and the universal longing for connection.

Mood
  • empathetic
  • introspective
  • quirky
  • resilient
Tone
  • darkly funny
  • candid
  • moving
  • wry
Pace
brisk
Themes
neurodivergent experience · longing for connection · family dysfunction · self-discovery
The writing
Candid, darkly humorous, and engagingly straightforward, reflecting the author's unique perspective and natural storytelling ability.
The arc
Moves from a childhood of misunderstood isolation and familial dysfunction to a hard-won adulthood of self-acceptance and clarity.
Who it's for
Readers seeking an authentic, humorous, and deeply personal window into life with undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome.
Content notes
  • parental substance abuse
  • childhood neglect
  • ableism and alienation

About the book

Ever since he was small, John Robison had longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits--an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them)--had earned him the label "social deviant." No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. It was no wonder he gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on.After fleeing his parents and dropping out of high school, his savant-like ability to visualize electronic circuits landed him a gig with KISS, for whom he created their legendary fire-breathing guitars. Later, he drifted into a "real" job, as an engineer for a major toy company. But the higher Robison rose in the company, the more he had to pretend to be "normal" and do what he simply couldn't: communicate. It wasn't worth the paycheck.It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told him he had the form of autism called Asperger's syndrome. That understanding transformed the way Robison saw himself--and the world.Look Me in the Eye is the moving, darkly funny story of growing up with Asperger's at a time when the diagnosis simply didn't exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes you inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as "defective," who could not avail himself of KISS's endless supply of groupies, and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people's given names (he calls his wife "Unit Two"). He also provides a fascinating reverse angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents--the boy who would later change his name to Augusten Burroughs and write the bestselling memoir Running with Scissors.Ultimately, this is the story of Robison's journey from his world into ours, and his new life as a husband, father, and successful small business owner--repairing his beloved high-end automobiles. It's a strange, sly, indelible account--sometimes alien, yet always deeply human.From the Hardcover edition.

Description from Open Library.

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