Synopses & Reviews
“Extraordinary… Greenfeld details what it is like to grow up next to a ‘beautiful boy with whom he can never play and never connect and who never returns his love, but who, nonetheless, is the most important fact of his life.”
— Michael Thompson, Ph.D., co-author of
Raising Cain “Beautiful and powerful …. A masterpiece of literature and memory.”
— Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe
“Gripping.”
— Washington Post
A WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
In this literary tour de force, Karl Taro Greenfield, the acclaimed journalist and author of China Syndrome, tells the story of his life growing up with his brother, chronicling the hopes, dreams, and realities of life with an autistic sibling. Fans of Joan Didions The Year of Magical Thinking and David Sheffs Beautiful Boy will find many poignant, moving moments in Boy Alone.
Review
“Gripping.” Suki Casanave, Washington Post
Synopsis
In this literary tour de force, the acclaimed journalist and author of "China Syndrome" tells the story of his life growing up with his brother, chronicling the hopes, dreams, and realities of life with an autistic sibling.
Synopsis
"Boy Alone unlocks the heart and lets the emotions pour out: grief, despair, anger, love, devotion and wonder. Whether you are a parent or a sibling of someone with autism or just looking in from the outside through this rarely opened window into the complex life of a family coping with autism, you will never forget this book." --Portia Iversen, Co-Founder of Cure Autism Now Foundation and author of Strange Son
A Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year
In this literary tour de force, Karl Taro Greenfield, acclaimed journalist and author of China Syndrome, tells the story of his life growing up with his brother, chronicling the hopes, dreams, and realities of life with an autistic sibling.
Karl Taro Greenfeld knew from an early age that his little brother, Noah, was not like other children. He was unable to communicate verbally or tie his shoes, and despite his angelic demeanor was prone to violent outbursts. No doctor, social worker, or specialist could pinpoint what was wrong with Noah beyond a general diagnosis: autism. The boys' parents dedicated their lives to caring for their younger son--a challenging, often painful experience that their father detailed in a bestselling trilogy of books.
Boy Alone is Karl Taro Greenfeld's unforgettable memoir of growing up in Noah's shadow, revealing the complex mix of rage, confusion, and love that defined the author's childhood--a beautiful, haunting, and wholly original exploration of what it means to be a family, a brother, a person.
Synopsis
Karl Taro Greenfeld knew from an early age that his little brother, Noah, was not like other children. He was unable to communicate verbally or tie his shoes, and despite his angelic demeanor was prone to violent outbursts. No doctor, social worker, or specialist could pinpoint what was wrong with Noah beyond a general diagnosis: autism. The boys' parents dedicated their lives to caring for their younger son—a challenging, often painful experience that their father detailed in a bestselling trilogy of books.
Boy Alone is Karl Taro Greenfeld's unforgettable memoir of growing up in Noah's shadow, revealing the complex mix of rage, confusion, and love that defined the author's childhood—a beautiful, haunting, and wholly original exploration of what it means to be a family, a brother, a person.
About the Author
Karl Taro Greenfeld is the author of six previous books, including the acclaimed memoir Boy Alone and the novel Triburbia. His fiction has appeared in Harper's Magazine, the Paris Review, Best American Short Stories, and the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories. He has been a longtime writer for Time and Sports Illustrated, among many other publications, and his nonfiction has been collected in Best American Sports Writing, Best American Non-Required Reading, Best American Travel Writing, and Best Creative Nonfiction.