The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone Review

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The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone ReviewI am neither a parent nor a fan of Broadway, but I still found much in this book to relate to. (I *was* a "Life Goes On" fan.) The way Maile projected so much of her emotion onto one person/idea is something I think many of us do for various defensive and protective reasons. Maile's writing is honest, intimate, smart and funny even when she's revealing her rather painful experiences. It's so compelling that I read it in two sittings. I really hope to read more of her in the not too distant future. I feel like she could write about anything and I'd enjoy it immensely.The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone OverviewIn The Unreachable Star: My Unauthorized Travels with Patti LuPone, author Maile Hernandez shares her story of following a Broadway legend on tour with star-struck enthrallment and her struggles as a mother to an autistic child.Dramatic in all the right ways, this poignant and reflective memoir reads as a deeply felt confession that wades through the waters of what it means to sail upon the shores of self-revelation.As lively and lilting as a memoir can be, there is an often self-deprecating tone, which reads as the tender weight of a life that inadvertently went off-course.A lawyer-turned-overwhelmed-parent began to renew her old singing and acting career after realizing a long-sought childhood dream of seeing Patti LuPone (of Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and Evita) live on Broadway.With poise and grace, Hernandez paints a vivid picture of what success is - as a wife, as a mother, and as a performer - and shares an inspired tale of what it takes to keep reaching for unreachable stars.

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American Normal: The Hidden World of Asperger Syndrome Review

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American Normal: The Hidden World of Asperger Syndrome ReviewAs an adult Aspie, I found Osborne's portrayal of Asperger's Syndrome to be tedious and tendentious. Even though the condition may be somewhat amorphous, there is a clear distinction between Aspies and non-Aspies. The otherness is what defines Asperger's Syndrome. Osborne attempts to raise the question regarding our very conception of normalcy and the long running theme of the book is the idea that perhaps everyone is on the spectrum in some way or another. That is, despite all its weirdness, there is nothing all that abnormal about Asperger's Syndrome. The message is hopeful in that it opens the gates to social acceptance, but I do think that he tends to underplay the severe problems that autistic individuals have in integrating into society.
However often it gets told, the story of the Aspie getting humiliated and then fired from a job, drifting downwards as he claws at any available opportunity, getting fired again, and again, before finally reaching a dead end, is perhaps THE story about Asperger's Syndrome. Geniuses have always been exceptions. Whilst it is heartwarming to think that men like Glenn Gould and Thomas Jefferson may have been autistic too, such trivia provides only a false sense of comfort to the 99.999% of Aspies who do not possess those extreme talents. What hope is there for the Aspie who does not possess the savant like skills in music? How many of us will ever turn out to be like Einstein?
Parts of the book had been published in the New York Times Magazine and as befits anything that is published in that august newspaper, the writing is of a high standard. However, Osborne writes as a man who is a professional writer. It is apparent that he has honed his craft and has learned how to reach for the metaphors and the similes. But the style feels a little too commercial, and the words often a little contrived.
Of the many and growing publications on Asperger's Syndrome, I would say that "American Normal" is perhaps one of the better offerings. Books written by Aspies tend to be wooden and excessively direct. Books written by parents of Aspies are usually too homely and thoughtlessly hopeful. Books written by the researchers are typically too specialized to be of any use to the lay reader. While I do sincerely believe that "American Normal" fails to shed any real insight into the lives and tribulations of an Aspie, it is useful for those who are beginning to apprehend the mysteries of the autistic mind. One should probably not be too critical of those who write of enigmas.American Normal: The Hidden World of Asperger Syndrome Overview

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