With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child, Vol. 1
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 11/22/2014
This book is in a Controlled Release!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 11/22/2014 This book is in a Controlled Release!
4 journalers for this copy...
I got this fair-condition softcover from Better World Books for another release copy of this excellent book.
I was thoroughly impressed - and delighted - with this book, which depicts many of the problems of raising an autistic child, not pulling punches or candy-coating it in any way, but leaving room for hope. It opens with Sachiko, a young wife and mother, discovering that her infant son Hikaru has autism, something she'd never really heard of before. She encounters (apparent) disinterest from her husband and outright animosity from her mother-in-law, who not only refuses to believe in the diagnosis but considers any problems with young Hikaru to be her fault. We see her attempts to find ways to help her son - and to help herself; imagine the confusion and heartbreak of a parent who cannot hold a crying child to comfort it, because the child hates to be touched... (That alone strikes me as one of the most difficult aspects of the situation.)
There are many lovely moments in among the difficult ones; when young Hikaru first hands his mother a flower and she realizes he is aware of her, may even care for her, just not the way she'd imagined. After a heart-wrenching disruption in her marriage, her husband achieves an epiphany of his own regarding his family's greater need for his presence than his paycheck. Hikaru's first word - well, I actually teared up.
There's a lot to make one angry, too - the prejudice of those who, even after learning about autism, won't make any attempt to adjust their behavior to ease the way for Hikaru; the less-adept of the educators and day-care staff - though there are also some really marvelous individuals who are able to make huge improvements in the lives of their young charges; there's even some active nastiness by a woman who fears for her own child who's in the same day-care with Hikaru (but who turns out to have dark reasons for her extreme views). Some of these people come around eventually - others, not so much. And the book does show just how scary and exhausting it can be dealing with the more severely autistic kids - but it also shows the value of consistency and education (of the kids and of their families and caretakers).
Time passes, Hikaru grows and learns - slowly, yes, and with setbacks, but it seems that he is improving. But his mother has to do a LOT of work to find suitable day-care and, later, schools for him; one of the points of the book is the lack of decent schooling for autistic kids, even as it demonstrates how good educators can improve the kids' lives and bad ones can reduce their ability to function. Hikaru's mother does an immense amount of work herself, setting up charts and schedules for him, figuring out ways in which he can communicate better, amuse himself safely, get things done...
Despite her best efforts, there are times when Hikaru gets away - and into trouble, from wandering into traffic to - well, there's an especially frightening incident fairly late in the book, which luckily turns out OK, but I was on the edge of my seat for a while there!
Near the end of the book, Hikaru gets a little sister - during a typhoon! - and the chapter ends on a simply lovely note.
The book includes sidebars with tips on making the home safe for kids (whether with developmental problems or not), suggestions on how to interact with someone with autism, what to do if they panic, and other helpful items. There are also a couple of accounts of real-life autistic children at the end of the book, and translation notes for some of the panels. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and strongly recommend it!
[There's a TV Tropes page for the series.]
See also Volume 8, the final volume, which commemorates the passing of the mangaka, who - I was saddened to learn - didn't quite finish the series...
I was thoroughly impressed - and delighted - with this book, which depicts many of the problems of raising an autistic child, not pulling punches or candy-coating it in any way, but leaving room for hope. It opens with Sachiko, a young wife and mother, discovering that her infant son Hikaru has autism, something she'd never really heard of before. She encounters (apparent) disinterest from her husband and outright animosity from her mother-in-law, who not only refuses to believe in the diagnosis but considers any problems with young Hikaru to be her fault. We see her attempts to find ways to help her son - and to help herself; imagine the confusion and heartbreak of a parent who cannot hold a crying child to comfort it, because the child hates to be touched... (That alone strikes me as one of the most difficult aspects of the situation.)
There are many lovely moments in among the difficult ones; when young Hikaru first hands his mother a flower and she realizes he is aware of her, may even care for her, just not the way she'd imagined. After a heart-wrenching disruption in her marriage, her husband achieves an epiphany of his own regarding his family's greater need for his presence than his paycheck. Hikaru's first word - well, I actually teared up.
There's a lot to make one angry, too - the prejudice of those who, even after learning about autism, won't make any attempt to adjust their behavior to ease the way for Hikaru; the less-adept of the educators and day-care staff - though there are also some really marvelous individuals who are able to make huge improvements in the lives of their young charges; there's even some active nastiness by a woman who fears for her own child who's in the same day-care with Hikaru (but who turns out to have dark reasons for her extreme views). Some of these people come around eventually - others, not so much. And the book does show just how scary and exhausting it can be dealing with the more severely autistic kids - but it also shows the value of consistency and education (of the kids and of their families and caretakers).
Time passes, Hikaru grows and learns - slowly, yes, and with setbacks, but it seems that he is improving. But his mother has to do a LOT of work to find suitable day-care and, later, schools for him; one of the points of the book is the lack of decent schooling for autistic kids, even as it demonstrates how good educators can improve the kids' lives and bad ones can reduce their ability to function. Hikaru's mother does an immense amount of work herself, setting up charts and schedules for him, figuring out ways in which he can communicate better, amuse himself safely, get things done...
Despite her best efforts, there are times when Hikaru gets away - and into trouble, from wandering into traffic to - well, there's an especially frightening incident fairly late in the book, which luckily turns out OK, but I was on the edge of my seat for a while there!
Near the end of the book, Hikaru gets a little sister - during a typhoon! - and the chapter ends on a simply lovely note.
The book includes sidebars with tips on making the home safe for kids (whether with developmental problems or not), suggestions on how to interact with someone with autism, what to do if they panic, and other helpful items. There are also a couple of accounts of real-life autistic children at the end of the book, and translation notes for some of the panels. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and strongly recommend it!
[There's a TV Tropes page for the series.]
See also Volume 8, the final volume, which commemorates the passing of the mangaka, who - I was saddened to learn - didn't quite finish the series...
I'm sending this to BCer emmejo in NY as a wish-filling RABCK. Enjoy!
This arrived in the mail today. Thank you!
Sachiko is delighted by the birth of her son, imagining exploring and teaching him about the world. But as he grows older, it becomes clear that something about Hikaru is different. At first he is thought to be deaf, but is finally diagnosed with autism. Sachiko struggles to provide him with what he needs to be happy, but often it is so different than what she imagined his life would be like. Yet the tears and heartbreak are worth it when Hikaru learns something new, makes a friend or finds a way to express himself.
Like GoryDetails, there were a few points that made me tear up, but also ones that made me smile. I don't think I've read anything that so simply and gracefully explores the emotional ups-and-downs of a family in a long time. Sachiko is a wonderful mother, adapting to her son's needs without allowing anyone to dictate what he should be like because of his diagnosis, and a kind of character we rarely see. She makes a great guide into the reality that families with a special-needs member face, from finding appropriate special-ed schooling to the stress of balancing work and home.
The artwork is simple and expressive, easy to read and nice to look at. It's a hefty book that covers a lot of ground, but never feels dense.
Like GoryDetails, there were a few points that made me tear up, but also ones that made me smile. I don't think I've read anything that so simply and gracefully explores the emotional ups-and-downs of a family in a long time. Sachiko is a wonderful mother, adapting to her son's needs without allowing anyone to dictate what he should be like because of his diagnosis, and a kind of character we rarely see. She makes a great guide into the reality that families with a special-needs member face, from finding appropriate special-ed schooling to the stress of balancing work and home.
The artwork is simple and expressive, easy to read and nice to look at. It's a hefty book that covers a lot of ground, but never feels dense.
Sent to the winner of the Manga and Graphic Novels Sweepstakes. I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you so much, emmejo! Oh my goodness. I just love this book. I stayed up until 1:30 reading parts (probably most) of it. Yet I didn't want to start at the beginning and read through because I knew I probably wouldn't get any sleep at all. I've already started looking for the other books complete the series. Lol.
This is such a lovely book. The drawings are gorgeous. And the story needs to be told. Thank you for this terrific surprise as well the book labels that I'll be putting to use. :)
This is such a lovely book. The drawings are gorgeous. And the story needs to be told. Thank you for this terrific surprise as well the book labels that I'll be putting to use. :)
Including in the Manga/Comic/Graphic Novel Relay Game: Round III.
Yay, the Manga/Comic/Graphic Novel Relay Game has arrived! I love receiving books that have already travelled a bit. Since there are such long and detailled-looking entries for this one, I'm not looking at them until I've read it - but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's responses and opinions. I don't think I've ever come across a book like this (manga/graphic novel or not). As always, BookCrossing is very good for expanding one's perspective.
Yes, this book is really gripping! I was planning to read it over the weekend, and now I've finished it, and it's only Thursday night. I'm not a parent and never will be, but I found it really informative, and I think that reading books like this one is really helpful for expanding one's awareness of neurodiversity.
Despite the simple, classic manga style, all the characters were easy to remember and recognise (unlike in the last American comic I read), and I enjoyed watching Hikaru's development (and Sachiko and Masato's development as parents). I also really liked Sachiko's mother and Hiroaki's mother. (So glad to see her as a recurring character!)
And finally, I think that reading this may have contributed to my better understanding a haiku by Basho (which also appears as an epigraph in Fup by Jim Dodge):
The temple bell bell stops.
But the sound keeps coming
out of the flowers.
I was reminded of this when they name Hikaru's little sister Kanon and spell it "the sound of flowers". That made me smile.
(And just now, as I was taking Fup from the shelf to look up the haiku and also re-opening With the Light for the reference, a lovely homemade ghost bookmark fell out of one of the books - I can't tell which, but I suspect the manga. More smiles!)
This book will stay with me for a bit and then travel on to a friend on whose wishlist I've spotted it. ;)
Despite the simple, classic manga style, all the characters were easy to remember and recognise (unlike in the last American comic I read), and I enjoyed watching Hikaru's development (and Sachiko and Masato's development as parents). I also really liked Sachiko's mother and Hiroaki's mother. (So glad to see her as a recurring character!)
And finally, I think that reading this may have contributed to my better understanding a haiku by Basho (which also appears as an epigraph in Fup by Jim Dodge):
The temple bell bell stops.
But the sound keeps coming
out of the flowers.
I was reminded of this when they name Hikaru's little sister Kanon and spell it "the sound of flowers". That made me smile.
(And just now, as I was taking Fup from the shelf to look up the haiku and also re-opening With the Light for the reference, a lovely homemade ghost bookmark fell out of one of the books - I can't tell which, but I suspect the manga. More smiles!)
This book will stay with me for a bit and then travel on to a friend on whose wishlist I've spotted it. ;)
This book is now travelling to Germany as a wishlist tag for my friend linguistkris. Enjoy! :)
