In this remarkable memoir, Emily Grodin, who has been autistic from birth, teams up with her mother, Valerie Gilpeer, to talk about her childhood and her family’s attempts to help her become a responsible individual living in society. They articulate all the ways in which Emily’s specialness has led to an uncannily perceptive and strong poetic voice, and how others like her can find hope in her story and resources that will help our loved ones as much as they helped her. The world is changing and for the better --- frustratingly slowly but surely.

April is Autism Awareness Month, which is very special in my home. With a young adult child on the autism spectrum, I am constantly learning about all the signs I missed as a mother uneducated in autism. I thought that if anything was wrong, it would show up scholastically and the public school system would help me and my child acknowledge his issues and find him the appropriate help. None of that happened. And lately, with the more public pushback against ABA, which is a conversion therapy for autistic individuals, it is important that the work of ASAN (the service that helps people find resources to live with their diagnosis and not be ashamed of it) be celebrated and shared with anyone who needs it.

"This beautifully written book will bring you to tears on many occasions.... Emily’s poetry is a gorgeous and perceptive addition to an already valuable volume."

"I have been buried under years of dust and now I have so much to say" are the first words that Emily related to her mother when she began to move away from expressing herself with only sounds and physical movements and instead used language as a means to convey her innermost thoughts and her most outward needs and desires. A two steps forward, eight steps back lifestyle was frustrating, and Valerie uses her memories and Emily’s poetic renderings to help us understand the maze that they have meandered through for so long and the numerous doctors and uneducated caregivers who were ready to write Emily off. Valerie knew that her daughter had a spark, a wit and so much to share that couldn’t be done the neurotypical way, and she never stopped looking for help that would lead Emily to a full, feeling, independent life.

Emily’s triumphant move into being able to work as a poet and tell her story in her own words is hard won. Valerie, an attorney, changed her practice in order to be a legal consultant to families with loved ones who are autistic. Their struggle is very real, their love for each other is unending, and their allyship to other families who are going through the difficulty of not being seen, heard and celebrated is resounding. I HAVE BEEN BURIED UNDER YEARS OF DUST is an important landmark of a book. For autistic people and their caretakers, loved ones and other advocates, it is a hopeful story of what happens when you don’t give up and provide love and assistance to all the weary pilgrims on such a difficult road.

This beautifully written book will bring you to tears on many occasions. The stories are told by both Emily and Valerie, and getting both perspectives gives us a well-rounded look at the daily and lifetime issues that this family faced (as do millions of others around the world). Emily’s poetry is a gorgeous and perceptive addition to an already valuable volume.

I cannot stress enough how important and wondrous this book is and how much Emily’s story will help families all over the world deal with the benchmarks in front of them. It is a story of hope. It is a story of understanding. It is a straight and true story of a young woman’s journey to selfhood and her parents’ undying love and belief in her. Everyone should be lucky enough to have someone like Valerie and Emily in their lives. This Autism Awareness Month, step away from the corporate chatter of the attempt to “cure” people who live with this disorder and instead listen to their stories and learn from them. As we hopefully move into the Age of Aquarius, may we all discover the best parts of ourselves and give of ourselves to those who need our friendship and support. We all may just learn something.

Brava, Emily! Brava, Valerie! I HAVE BEEN BURIED UNDER YEARS OF DUST is a celebration of the best possible kind. As Dr. Edlyn Peña of the Autism and Communication Center at California Lutheran University writes, “The world needs to hear from more autism advocates like Emily who challenge our misguided assumptions about autism.” May this be the first of many such hopeful works.