First published 2025
Leland Vittert didn't speak for years as a child. When he finally did, teachers called him weird. A school principal told his parents that everyone thought their son was strange. Leland showed signs of autism at a time when few people understood the condition. He struggled with eye contact, missed social cues, and couldn't connect with other kids. Bullies targeted him constantly. His father Mark made a radical decision. He quit his job to become Leland's full-time coach. Mark taught his son everything from basic social skills to physical toughness through hundreds of pushups at age seven. He knew the world wouldn't adapt to Leland, so he prepared Leland for the world. The training was grueling and precise. Mark coached his son through complex social interactions and taught him to understand humor and motivation. Despite continued rejection through college, Leland eventually became a respected journalist at Fox News Channel and later NewsNation. This memoir traces their journey from a silent, struggling child to a poised television anchor reporting from Middle East battlefields and the White House. Leland writes as a grateful son who trusted his father's unconventional methods and defied expectations.
Genres: mental-health, autobiography, non-fiction, biography-memoir, disability
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: defying-expectations, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Fox News Channel, Middle East, NewsNation, White House
Period: childhood, college, present-day
272 pages · Hardcover · Harper Horizon
Content warnings: mental-illness