“I hear autistic people are brilliant”. “Is your son like Rain Man?” These are comments I hear when people learn that my eldest son is autistic. A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism is a memoir about life with an autistic son, Matthew, written from a mother’s perspective. It answers the many questions that people have about autism through the story of Matthew’s life, from the tender years of diagnosis to young adulthood. A Regular Guy illustrates the many ways in which family, friends and strangers are touched by Matthew’s profound desire to be a regular guy, and how his brutal honesty and social awkwardness bring out the best and worst in people in touching and humorous ways. In turn, A Regular Guy leads readers to love and accept Matthew, quirks and all, and inspires them to understand and tolerate the differences in others.

Advance praise for A Regular Guy…

“This intimate memoir gives us a bird’s-eye view of Laura Shumaker’s family life from the time of her first son Matthew’s birth to his early twenties. Eventually diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, Matthew comes of age at a time when more children are being diagnosed with autism but few get the care they so desperately need.

Through sheer determination and with intense love and devotion, the author and her husband and family members provide the relationships and supports that help Matthew survive an often-cruel environment. We are carried through this journey by the expertise of Laura’s lyrical prose and her willingness to expose us to her roller-coaster ride as she tries to do everything possible to allow Matthew to become a connected and productive member of society.

A must-read for all families affected by autism, professionals who care for children and adults on the autism spectrum, and for those who wish to get a better understanding of what it is like to wear the shoes of a mother striving to do the best for her special-needs son.”

-Ricki G. Robinson, M.D., M.P.H.

Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine; Scientific Advisory Board Member, “Autism Speaks.”

“In Laura Shumaker’s thoughtful portrait of her family’s struggle with autism, we explore the journey that anyone touched by disability must navigate. Her writing is elegant. Her lessons are invaluable.”

-Mark Trautwein
NPR Perspectives, KQED-FM/San Francisco