John Elder Robison has written two books on his experience with Asperger's syndrome: Look Me in the Eye and Be Different. In Raising Cubby, he brings his warmth, intelligence and humor to an equally personal subject: his own son.
Cubby is the nickname Robison gave his young son, Jack, when born, based on his pet name for the boy's mother: Little Bear. Although the two are no longer married, the book is dedicated to her and her tireless efforts to raise their son while dealing with her own Asperger traits.
Robison focuses on a high-profile case in which the teenage Cubby was prosecuted for videotaping the explosions he set off as chemistry experiments. While the local district attorney tried to depict Cubby as a terrorist-in-training, Robison, Cubby's mother, their neighboring community and a very high-priced lawyer attempted to present the boy they knew: quiet, peaceful and incredibly intelligent.
The trial, which ended in 2009 with Cubby's acquittal, grounds the memoir, but what fills most of the pages is the love, joy and frustrations of raising a child, with or without Asperger's syndrome. Robison discusses, plainly and transparently, the ways in which his son challenged him to become a better community member and father every day of their remarkable lives together. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor