A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism is a memoir about life with an autistic son, Matthew, written from his mother s perspective. It answers the many questions that people have about autism through the story of Matthew s life spanning from babyhood to young adulthood. A Regular Guy illustrates the many ways in which family, friends and strangers are touched by Matthew s desperate desire to be a regular guy, and how his brutal honesty and social awkwardness bring out the best and worst in people in touching and humorous ways. In turn, A Regular Guy leads readers to love and accept Matthew, quirks and all, and inspires them to understand and tolerate the differences in others.
I'm the mother of THREE terrific sons. The oldest, Matthew, is a young adult with autism. I'm an optimistic mother/autism advocate/writer, and parents like me because I tell them it gets easier and I mean it. I write an autism blog for the San Francisco Chronicle that is very popular.
I've contributed to several anthologies, including Voices of Autism, A Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Special Needs, Writin' on Empty, Gravity Pulls You In, Writin' on Empty, Easy to Love, Hard to Raise and the incredible Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. My essays have appeared in many places, including The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Contra Costa Times, Literary Mama, the East Bay Monthly, The Autism Advocate, on NPR and CNN.COM.
