Sample passages from my memoir "Problem Child" up

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In a few weeks I am self-publishing my memoir of life with autism, called "Problem Child: Confessions of an Aspie."

I just put up a few short passages (one from childhood, one from adolescence, and one from adulthood) on Amazon. I would love feedback from WP members. (There will be several more samples available for viewing when I launch the website and put the book up for sale.)

Click here for the sample passages!

They're cool, although I want to know what you were told was so funny about what you said to the chef.

I don't remember... it was a really long time ago

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It's good I hope you get it published.

They are well formed anecdotes. I hope you are tying them together with themes. A book that is anecdote+anecdote+anectdote+anecdote> the end would be dull. There needs to be an exploration of how these different incidents helped shape the person you are now. I saw the hint of that in the sentence that ended the classroom anecdote, " So much of my life has been spent saying to people 'Can I join your group?' " I hope the unexcerpted passage that follows that sentence explores that theme more instead of just continuing on to another anecdote.

Your writing style is good. My feeback may not even be valid since there may be whole passages between these anecdotes which explore the themes they raise. But if there aren't, you should write some.

I didn't know what was funny either until I just remembered "Oh I know now, you were not supposed to tell the waiter you like the other soup better than theirs."


But really, I don't understand why this is so wrong to say. Why would a waiter or waitress take offense to this? It's not their food. They just work there, the food isn't theirs. The only person who should be offended is the owner (was it private owned) but still shouldn't they take that as good feedback to try and improve their soup if they wanted it to be better? So why take offense? I swear even NTs can't take criticism and they make that part of AS?


I could relate to the anecdotes. The police part, not really because I have never had that happen to me but the other two I can relate to because I tend to be too honest (still working on it) and in school I had a hard time joining groups the teacher always had to help me get a group. But I never knew I was missing social cues. I didn't even know they existed and I just thought kids were rejecting me. They were technically. But I thought it was them, not me so it made me different.

I thought using anecdotes was unusual because I have never seen it written that way. It was just memory after memory as Janissy said.

The waiter wasn't offended, he thought it was funny. It's like the saying goes, "kids say the darnedest things". Imagine what the reaction would have been if an adult had said what I said.

There are two misunderstandings with law enforcement documented in the book. I chose this one because the other has a lot of backstory, and I also thought the intro to the passage in the preview-- my camping in the Nevadan desert by myself in October, oblivious to the sounds of wandering coyotes-- was very indicative of an Aspergian.

The writing style is generally anecdotal, but the book most certainly has overarcing themes, as well as a beginning, middle, climax, and conclusion.

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I really like your very Aspergian anecdotes. Especially the one about the cop. I'm still baffled that eye contact is SO freakin' !Important!

It will be published and available for purchase on Amazon sometime in late August, as soon as I have the website developed.

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Check out my IMDB page!

I enjoyed reading those extracts, they kept my attention and I can relate so much to the situation with not having a group or partner, so often I had to go up to the teacher to say I had no partner, and I recall times the teacher ended up having to partner with me because no one wanted me in their group.

I'm pretty sure that happened to me once or twice in elementary school; I just can't remember who with. Mr. Biggs was a really good teacher overall, I know he is still at the school (he's been there well over a decade). It's very unfortunate he didn't understand the nature of social anxiety and didn't offer to work with me, because I should have aced the class.

I like it. It reminds me of when I ate noodles at a chinese shop, and I wanted Top Ramen.

I loved Ramen noodles when I was a kid. Oodles of Noodles was my favorite kind, I don't know if they even still make those.

And if you didn't know... Ramen noodles (at least, the cheap kind you buy in the grocery store are pure junk food.

I enjoy your anecdotes.

I like the one about groups. That is truly such an awkward situation. But I usually rush to people and am just flat out ask them if I can join, or if they want to join.

This is one of those inexplicable situations where everybody else does it with no problem, but with us Aspies, it just doesn't come out right. I remember that day in gym class as though it were yesterday.

No offense, but it seems kinda prosaic.