DON'T LOOK AWAY

A memoir explores what it means to live with autism.

Born in 2002, Glisik was diagnosed with autism when she was 3 years old. Doctors conceded that they were uncertain that she would ever be able to speak. Growing up, she found that writing “opened a window to the world” that she thought was “locked shut.” In this book, the author endeavors to come to know herself by reflecting on how autism has shaped her life. She touches on key life events, such as the experience of being an “American kid” who relocated to Slovenia in the third grade. But the memoir’s emphasis is on describing the emotional effects of autism. Glisik addresses in detail how aspects of the world would overwhelm her as a child, such as everyday sounds and contact with specific materials. As an adult, she explains how she struggled to “tune into” all forms of nonverbal communication. The author also recounts coming out as a lesbian with autism. This work can be read as a stand-alone or in tandem with Don’t Look Away: My Child Has Autism (2022), which offers the perspective of Glisik’s mother, Mojca. Glisik is a smartly descriptive writer who displays the ability to place readers in her position. Her actions as a child, which perplexed others, are explained with clarity—such as her “becoming a human police siren” in reaction to invasive noises: “My high-frequency shrieks would draw my attention away from those hostile vibrations in the air. After all, what’s more soothing than my own screams?” The author’s writing also demonstrates an acute self-awareness. With regard to her obsessive behavior, such as repeated hand-washing, she writes: “I’ve been caught in the same Catch 22: listening to those obsessive thoughts and acting out my compulsions eased the anxiety, but it also made me downright miserable.” Glisik is also mordantly incisive when it comes to the stereotyping of autism, such as referring to it as a “superpower”: “Telling me…that the reason I missed my mom’s graduation party was because of a superpower is merely insulting.” The author’s brilliantly expressive memoir is important: It not only opens readers’ eyes to how an individual with autism feels, but also articulates the burden of skewed societal expectations.

Bold and illuminating writing about autism.