by Ron Suskind
First published 2014
Ron Suskind examines the growing autism crisis in America by focusing on one family's journey. He traces connections between autism spectrum disorders and Disney's animated movies, showing how these films have become unexpectedly important for many autistic individuals. Suskind investigates The Walt Disney Company's role as America's dominant storytelling institution while documenting how autism has emerged as a defining condition of our time. The book follows these two seemingly separate threads as they gradually converge. Suskind demonstrates how Disney's narratives provide structure and meaning for people navigating autism. The investigation builds toward a unified conclusion that celebrates human resilience and demonstrates storytelling's fundamental role in giving shape to human experience.
Genres: family-life, mental-health, biography-memoir, 21st-century, film, academic, american-history, disability
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
Period: 21st-century
368 pages · Hardcover · Kingswell