The Ride Together: A Brother and Sister's Memoir of Autism in the Family

This is a truly outstanding book. Siblings Paul and Judy Karasik tell their life stories as relates to their brother David, who has an especially severe form of autism. Born in 1948, David appeared to meet developmental milestones within normal limits during the first year of his life, save for speech. In beautifully, brilliantly drawn comic-style illustrations, his younger brother Paul depicts family scenes with David and then only sibling, younger brother Michael going to a doctor's office while David awaits his verdict. David receives a multitude of antiquated diagnoses given the times including aphasia. Judy and Paul, the two youngest Karasik children chronicle the parallels of their neurotypical development alongside of that of David. Unable to stand changes to his routine, David insists on "putting on TV shows" wherein he "interviewed" politicians and copied the format of televised interviews. When crossed, he would self stim and even hit his own head, screaming out names of television characters. He also liked to list the names of the neighborhood barbers and seemed to derive comfort in anticipating his haircuts at their shop. The barbers had established a bond with the Karasik family and would step up to the plate for their father when he suffered his final illness in 1992. Other challenges crop up in their family. The Karasik children's maternal grandfather and his daughter, their aunt move into their home in 1969. Their aunt, severely debilitated and profoundly retarded after suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage in infancy is installed in one room and their grandfather has the study. An angel of a nurse named Dorothy White cares for the pair as well as the Karasik children. To ease Dorothy's work load, a night nurse is hired. When Judy comes home one night and finds the nurse watching television, ignoring her grandfather's anguished cries and dismissing them, the first person she calls is Dorothy. Like the Cavalry, Dorothy rushes over to the home to resume caring for the pair. The night nurse's departure is expedited and rightfully so after her callous inattention to the patients' needs. Dorothy again steps up to the plate for her ailing charges. She insists on having them move into her home where she and other members of her family can care of them. This arrangement worked well until a fire destroyed her home in March, 1978 killing both patients, another relative who lived in the home and injuring Dorothy's husband. An electrical short from a television in an upstairs bedroom caused the fire and sadly, the patients perished from smoke inhalation. Luckily, the Karasiks were able to rally around Dorothy and her husband's side and continue a circle of love. Dorothy sounded like a genuine angel. The professional and personal Long & Winding Roads of each Karasik are gently chronicled. Readers come away with an enriched sense of life with multiple challenges - severe autism; sibling questions; elderly relativ

"The Ride Together" provides a unique illustration of living with--growing up with--autism. The book gives voice like nothing else to the personal impact of autism on family members in ways not ordinarily considered. For example, a youngster wincing when his friend casually uses "retard" as an epithet. Or mom patiently explaining why it's fair that one's brother doesn't have to clean his room "because everything else is so hard for him." There are escape mechanisms one must develop in order not to be overwhelmed--one poignant example being the adoption of avoidance strategies in adolescence so the girl you want to date won't actually come to your house. The format of the book combines clear, unsentimental prose and graphic novel form, enhancing its message in the way that poetry lends added meaning to ordinary words and phrases.

What a unique and astounding experience this book is. The authors tell the story of their autistic brother in a way that made me shake my head in wonder. Alternating chapters of prose and graphic/illustrated text paint a portrait of such power and poignant insight that neither method alone could ever achieve. For me, it was like when, after instumental music has taken us as far as it can, the vocal chorus kicks in in Beethoven's Ninth. As I read (and re-read) this book, I found that the chapters were almost conducting a dialog with each other, with "prose" chapters challenging the "words-and-pictures" ones, and vice versa, each chapter upping the narrative ante. Because the format alternates as it does, our brains are constantly challenged and engaged, and we get to know David and all the members of the Karasik family in wasy that make it unlikely that we will soon forget them.A stunning achievement.

This book is fantastic. It works on many levels. It makes autism less mysterious; it tells a compelling story; it shows how our experiences as part of a family make us who we are. The book alternates chapters of prose and graphic-novel format. This composition is very original and serves its subject well, conveying a complexity of emotion and relationships that neither format would be able to convey alone. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in autism, the human condition, or the creative process.

I can't think of any other book that could have so brilliantly told a real story about autism in the family...in such an imaginative and poignant way. Until you've seen and read this book, it is difficult to comprehend that the searing edge of storytelling could be by means of the duality of child/adult personal recollections -- combined with original graphic-novel illustration. To bring this kind of imagination to this important, elusive topic of our time is a truly miraculous achievement. There is a lot of pain and a lot of joy of family strength, and you really don't feel that marzipan coating that might have gotten in the way.What a beautiful, amazing book...I sat down to read it and found myself finishing it all in an afternoon, something I rarely do. I'm not an activist, but I must say I have spent time trying to tell friends about this book. I'll probably be giving a number of copies as gifts. Somehow, I hope this book receives a much wider audience so that people might see and understand the power and value of writing (and drawing) about something REAL in a society which seems so consumed with pop topics and lavish, vacant overproduced books that never get read or are rarely worth saving, passing on to others.