There is a saying among families affected by autism, quoted by the authors (and parents) of THE WARNER BOYS: “If you meet one child with autism, you know one child with autism.” This expresses the vast differences of personality, activity, inclination and communication that can be found among those with autism.

When Ana and Curt Warner got married, they were happy and enthusiastic as most young couples are. Those feelings were deflated when their first child was stillborn, but when the second, Jonathan, survived and thrived, they were hopeful about another child soon on the way. The next one turned out to be two --- twin boys Austin and Christian --- who, after a maddening five years of destructive and self-destructive behavior, were finally diagnosed with autism in 1999.

"The shared recollections of these two courageous parents are all the more admirable because, with the twins, there was no sudden miracle cure, no leaping of developmental milestones owing to some new treatment."

At the time, much less was known about ASD, and this placed a great burden on Curt, a former football star turned salesman, and Ana, who began to spend all her waking hours cooking special foods for and constantly guarding her two obstreperous boys. Screaming, eating string and other odd non-foods, and kicking holes in the walls were only the beginning for the two, who could reliably say the names of Disney movie characters but not “Mama” or “Papa.” Once, almost unbelievably, they burned their house down, and had it not been for Jonathan on the scene, they might have perished in the flames.

Ana and Curt have composed this book with their individual memories juxtaposed in each chapter, frankly and at times agonizingly recounting the years of seeking therapies (there were few when the boys were young), looking for schools (they mostly had to rely on homeschooling since public schools were unequipped in that era to handle children with extreme special needs), and, through their shared religious faith, searching for any signs of hope. Oddly enough, adopting a daughter from Brazil seemed to help. Isabella, as a toddler, somehow blended well with the two boys: with Austin, the more outgoing twin, she was competitive, and with Christian she was quiet and tender. The boys eventually completed high school and have found a new home on a farm designed to train, employ and sustain adults with special needs.

The shared recollections of these two courageous parents are all the more admirable because, with the twins, there was no sudden miracle cure, no leaping of developmental milestones owing to some new treatment. It was an inch-by-inch, hour-by-hour struggle with many discouragements. In public when the boys acted out, strangers would express their disapproval of their parenting, but Ana believes that no one who witnessed it will ever forget the sight of Curt dropping to the floor in a crowded airport to comfort his screaming son in the throes of an autistic meltdown.

The two have become speakers and advocates for parents and others concerned with the harsh realities of autism, and Curt concludes their inspiring saga with this: “It’s been a tough, long road, but we got here…together.”