"An Unexpected Life:" Part 1

I have spent all the free time I've had in the last two days (which sadly, isn't much since we had some family events throughout this weekend) reading "An Unexpected Life." 

This book is transforming. Written by Debra Chwast, her narrative chronicles the life her autistic son has led so far (as he is in his mid-20's) from the struggling child to a successful and prominent artist he is today. Additionally, as I had mentioned before, the book is filled with Seth's paintings and art pieces which help create a time line of his life through his works. 

His mother, Debra, is an absolute inspiration. Although my copy of the book is highlighted with inspiring quotes, there's a few which still resonate in my head. Here is one: 

At eighteen, Seth had a formal vocational evaluation that determined he was best suited to a career in dry mopping. There we were in that dusty little office where Seth had just completed a three-day evaluation to determine his potential for employment. all that work, all those therapies, all those hours that we and other had devoted to him -- with all that he could do, the result was dry mopping? I said I would die first. (page 13) 

Contradicting a predicted career as a janitor, Debra Chwast gave Seth a life of which many would dream. After her first attempt to give Seth a "normal life," she brushed that aside and decided upon a new goal: to give Seth a "good life." From page 14 and so on until page 120, Seth blossoms as an artist, traveling the world and being featured in national and international exhibitions. And of course, his art pieces from each show trail along with her narrative. 


However, throughout her push and struggle to give Seth a "good life," she reveals much about autism and addresses the three characterizations of autism from the dictionary.com definition. 

• "impaired communication" 
• As explained in the definition of autism (which will be further explained in a later post), Autism is a disorder of, generally, communication. A person with autism is withdrawn within themselves and often has trouble communicating. In the book and in especially the chapter titled, "New Friends are Everywhere," Debra Chwast tries and succeeds to surround Seth with people of all ages and cultivate communication in him. She talks of his mentors, high school and then college students who volunteer to spend time with Seth, his first friend Adam, his second mom, Amy, and the people who've accepted his offer to email him. All these people help take Seth of the "internal world" autism created. 
• "excessive rigidity" 
• The "rigidity" which usually characterizes autistic kids is escaped by his talent -- art. His art gives him a creative outlet. Rather than create a rigidity, she creates this passion for the boy. In an episode, he passionately wants to paint a decapitated boy and a girl with limbs off due to a roller coaster accident and at first, his mother was apalled to at his desire. However, he refused to paint or talk about anything else. This mentor urged Debra to let go and see where it took them. The painting wasn't gory at all, but just a symbolic representation of the tragedy. In her own words, this was a way for Seth to grieve, rather than a depiction of "rigidity."
• "emotional detachment" 
• By surrounding him with people, Debra Chwast gives him emotional relationships. This can be seen with Amy, a girl between Debra and Seth's age who becomes a close, close friend of the family and finally, will take care of Seth if anything should happen to Debra. In ecstasy, Debra quotes her son, who calls Amy, "his second mom." 

Thus, in this biography, Debra not only tells an inspiring story, but also gives advice on therapy and coping with the autism. After all, she experienced it herself first hand.