The Speed of Dark

Autism is a scary word for most of us with only fuzzy ideas of what it is exactly. Retarded, nonverbal, strange might come to mind. How incomplete our ideas would be. Elizabeth Moon, a prolific author of science fiction, has used her many talents to put the The Speed of Dark reader in Lou Arrendale's body, as he meets the challenges facing him. Color, music, everyday phrased by "normal" neighbors and coworkers are confusing and sometimes incomprehensible. And someone has it in for him, personally. Others are pressuring, even threatening, him and his friends to be part of an experimental treatment for autism. Lou has many hard decisions to make and obstacles to overcome.
Ms. Moon writes with authority. Her autistic son was fourteen at the time The Speed of Dark was published in 2002. She was in touch with autistic children and adults for many years before writing this book and credits them with helping make Lou Arrendale, her main character, a real person dealing with his autism.
While The Speed of Dark is fiction, it reveals the world and the difficulties the autistic must face daily. It behooves us, his/her neighbors, coworkers, family, to better understand and be the supportive friend we all need at times.
This book is available in most of your favorite book stores and from Amazon (new, used, and kindle versions).