Fearlessly different An autistic actor's journey to Broadway's biggest stage

In this immensely inspiring debut, Rowe recounts how he achieved his acting dreams "because of and not in spite of my autism." He writes of his difficult childhood, having grown up with a neglectful mother, younger brothers who bullied him, and a school system that failed to make accommodations for his disability. When his grandmother introduced him to Seattle Children's Theatre, a young Rowe found solace in watching the "human, wise, and flawed characters" before him. While this led him down an arduous path to finding a career on the stage--one riddled with prejudice from directors and "rejection after gaslit rejection"--he finally found success as the first openly autistic actor to play the autistic lead as Christopher Boone in a 2017 Indiana production of the Broadway hit, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. In addition to relaying his incredible story of persistence, Rowe shares the challenges he faced raising his autistic son, celebrates the joys of finding love ("nonautistics should be jealous they don't get to experience sex as an autistic person"), and launches a searing indictment of the horrific ways society casts aside those with disabilities: "at least one disabled person is killed per week by their parent or caregiver." The result powerfully renders what it's like to live life to the fullest. (Mar.)

Rowe, who is autistic and legally blind, shares the difficulty he encountered growing up. Rejected by his mother, he was shunned by classmates and constantly reminded of what he couldn't do. Sent to live with his grandparents in Seattle, he was introduced to the Seattle Children's Theatre, where he found his calling. Still, becoming an actor seemed out of reach. However, as this memoir shows, Rowe was fearless. By pushing against his supposed limitations, he not only became an actor (he landed the lead role in the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the first time an autistic actor played an autistic character), he became a husband, a father, a theater director, and founder of the National Disability Theater. As he makes clear, it was a long and difficult road, but he was undeterred. He adopted the mantra that differences are strengths, and the book ends with a call to action for readers to be brave, to live with compassion and empathy, and to embrace their differences. VERDICT A powerful book that will appeal to fans of stirring and inspiring memoirs.--Rosellen Brewer