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Reviews
I Have Been Buried Under Years of Dust: A Memoir of Autism and Hope by Valerie Gilpeer, Emily Grodin
angelacoz's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This was a stunningly beautiful book. As the parent of an autistic child, I cannot recommend this book enough to all people. I was captivated from the very first sentence and only put it down to sleep. The insights from the authors were so helpful and validating of my own experiences and what I hope for my son.
lmkanne96's review against another edition
2.0
This book should have been mostly Emily’s words with some context provided from Valerie. Emily has beautiful thoughts and shared her struggles with such vulnerability that I appreciated. Instead of learning of Emily’s experience by way of Emily, we heard Valerie play the victim in this situation for 3/4 of the book. Specifically for me, I couldn’t accept Valerie speaking poorly about others or situations when they weren’t working in her favor, only to praise them later when they benefitted her.
kiracat13's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
This was a difficult read for me as a neurodivergent woman, especially the beginning of the book which is filled with ableism and harmful or triggering therapies. The mother came across as a self-congratulatory martyr at times, inflating her own wonderfulness and ability to help her daughter, and her push toward "normalcy" exhausted me. Additionally, the guilt often expressed by Emily Grodin about her impact on her parents and her initial distancing from the diagnosis and other neurodivergent and autistic people was difficult to hear about. However, I greatly appreciated the journey they went through and the absolute joy through the second half of the book after major communication breakthroughs, particularly from Grodin herself, was infectious. I loved Grodin's poetry and would love to hear more from her alone about her thoughts on social justice and life in general.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
alybre13's review against another edition
2.0
I hope that Emily never had the chance to read the entire book. Despite Emily saying she was never made to feel like a burden, from the mothers writing it is clear that Emily felt like a burden in her life.
What could have been a tale told mainly from Emily’s perspective was instead 90% her mom patting herself on the back
A similar story to Emily’s without the self-insertion of a narcissistic mother would be “The Reason I Jump” by Naoki Higashida
What could have been a tale told mainly from Emily’s perspective was instead 90% her mom patting herself on the back
A similar story to Emily’s without the self-insertion of a narcissistic mother would be “The Reason I Jump” by Naoki Higashida
mrsmobarak's review against another edition
4.0
First, I thought this book would be written only from Emily's perspective; instead it's a memoir from her mom's point of view with small bits of Emily's own words. That was a bummer to realize, because I was really excited to read Emily's story.
Nonetheless, once I understood how the book would read, it was a fascinating and enlightening story of Emily's life and her mother's relentless pursuit to provide her with the best life. Being born the same year as Emily and living in a nearby area, it was interesting and often humbling to think back where I was in my own life as she experienced various troubles and successes.
I admire Emily's drive to pursue independence and advocate for others with autism who can't speak up for themselves. She's truly an inspiration and was blessed with parents who loved her unconditionally. What a great read!
Nonetheless, once I understood how the book would read, it was a fascinating and enlightening story of Emily's life and her mother's relentless pursuit to provide her with the best life. Being born the same year as Emily and living in a nearby area, it was interesting and often humbling to think back where I was in my own life as she experienced various troubles and successes.
I admire Emily's drive to pursue independence and advocate for others with autism who can't speak up for themselves. She's truly an inspiration and was blessed with parents who loved her unconditionally. What a great read!
chipie's review against another edition
3.0
The writing was clunky at times but it was very interesting and I learned more about autism. Other reviewers mentioned that they would have preferred just to hear Emily's voice but as a mother the experience of the parents was of interest to me too.
mrhammerslag's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
2.5
I really liked Emily’s sections of the book but felt much less connected to her mothers sections, it was interesting to hear everything her parents did for her but I would much rather hear more from Emily about her life and experiences
glendareads39's review against another edition
4.0
Eye-opening, informative, heart-wrenching and beautiful memoir told by Valerie and her daughter Emily, who is autistic and nonverbal. The mother-daughter duo describes the challenges of living as and with an autistic person. The books takes you from Emily's beginning to where she is today...it's great seeing how Emily's life changed after she found her voice. It includes poems written by Emily. It's an bold and courageous book. People with autism deserved to be treated with love, respect and empathy. I recommend this book with April being Autism Acceptance month.