Standalone Sunday

Standalone Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by  Megan@bookslayerreads. Standalone Sunday was created to let others know about all the standalone books you have loved, but maybe don’t get the attention they need. Megan created the banner as well and anyone joining in can use it too. Why not check out her blog too

 

 As April is Autism Awareness Month I thought I’d pick The Unbreakable Boy by Scott LeRete for my choice this week.

Like any other teenage boy, Austin loves pizza, movies, dancing, and girls. But unlike most other eighteen year olds, he has a rare brittle-bone disease, was locked in a mental ward as a child, and is autistic. Yet Austin doesn’t let any of that stop him. His is a world where suffering a broken back is a minor inconvenience and the quest for the ultimate strawberry shake just might be the best day of his life.
Written with remarkable candour by Austin’s father, Scott, and New York Times best-selling author Susy Flory, The Unbreakable Boy weaves the beautiful and often humorous tale of how Austin teaches his father—and everyone else he encounters—to have faith in God and trust that one day life’s messes will all make sense.

Austin’s journey dares us all to believe that miracles are possible, that hope does spring eternal, and that we can find joyous moments to celebrate every day.

I really enjoyed this heart-warming memoir by Scott Michael LeRette. I don’t have any personal experience of autism, so it was a real eye opener listening to his journey and his family’s. It thought it might be a struggle to listen to, but actually it is very funny in places and it filled me with admiration for anyone who has a special needs person in their lives. I listened to the audio version in which Lloyd James narrates this book perfectly and drew me into the adventures and stories the author took me on. There were a lot of life lessons in this audio but not cringey or embarrassing, but profound and definitely worth another listen sometime. I definitely recommend this audio to anyone who wants to listen to a really uplifting book, it’ll make you appreciate the simple things in life as extraordinary, especially when you see them through Austin’s eyes!