Narrated by the author, Michael McCreary
Duration: 3 hours 37 minutes
Slaying autism stereotypes with stand-up, one joke at a time. Like many others on the autism spectrum, 20-something stand-up comic Michael McCreary has been told by more than a few well-meaning folks that he doesn't "look" autistic. But, as he's quick to point out in this memoir, autism "looks" different for just about everyone with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Diagnosed with ASD at age five, McCreary got hit with the performance bug not much later. During a difficult time in junior high, he started journaling, eventually turning his pain e into something empowering--and funny. He scored his first stand-up gig at age 14, and hasn't looked back. An #OwnVoices memoir breaks down what it's like to live with autism for readers on and off the spectrum.
My thoughts: I've never heard of Michael McCreary before. I've only encountered this book because it was our library's "Big Read." I was immediately drawn to the title of the book. As a special education teacher, I love reading books where the main character is on the spectrum. I highly looked forward to listening to this book.
The plot was pretty simple: Michael McCreary narrated his life up to the age 22. He was only 22 so he did not go through major life experiences and he was well taken care of for having ASD (autism spectrum disorder). He was diagnosed at the age of 5, had supporting parents, had great medical coverage, and got a jump on his comedic career. Though his life was not much of a struggle compared to many students on the spectrum I support, it was still heart-warming to hear about Michael overcoming his struggles with living with autism. I enjoyed listening to how he tried to stand up to bullies, how he tried to get revenge, how he tried to understand people's expressions and emotions, and his experience in working in a camp. Hearing about all this had me grinning from ear to ear.
What made this audiobook great was that it was narrated by the author himself. Listening to him made me tear up and made me continue to have high hopes for my students on the spectrum. He spoke well, delivered his few jokes perfectly, and did an excellent job expressing his emotions. I actually felt very proud of Michael! The only downside of listening to this book instead of reading it physically was that the reader gets to miss out on all the pictures and graphs that were included in the book. Instead, Michael read out website links that contained these images to refer to.
As a whole, this was a good listen to. I enjoyed listening to Michael's story and I only hope he gets to write another book when he is older. I rate this:
Sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteYes, you do miss out on the photos when you listen to audiobooks. I recently listened to Michelle Obama's memoir, so missed out on the family photos in the physical book.