"In thirty-three essays and poems about the experience of parenting kids on the spectrum, this lyrical collection covers everything from early childhood to adult issues, from resilient hope to resigned acceptance, without ever giving in to anger and despair -- or maudlin heartstring-tugging, either. You'll find plenty to smile over, think about, and reflect on, and maybe some good writers to follow, too."
Read the entire review here
Terri Mauro, Guide to Parenting Special Needs, specialchildren.about.com

"John Elder Robison wrote the foreword for this powerfully intimate collection of poems and essays written by parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. Mr. Robison was not diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome until mid-life. As a kid, he shared how frustrated, and at times angry, he would get by the things he couldn’t do. However, unlike parents who are aware of the implications of their children’s diagnoses, he never experienced a 'sense of loss,' as he was unaware of his 'limitations.'

In this book, mothers and fathers express their own frustrations, grief, and fears as well as appreciation of their children’s gifts, and share glimpses of the lives they’ve created with and for their children."
Newsline, Fall 2010 (Federation for Children with Special Needs)

"Editors Anderson and Forman, both writers and parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), have compiled an anthology of essays and verse detailing experiences with ASD either as parents, teachers, advocates, or therapists. The contributors are experienced writers and parents of ASD children and candidly share their journeys and life-changing experiences. In an enlightening foreword, John Elder Robison (Look Me in the Eye) adds his unique insight as a person with ASD and the parent of a child with the disorder. The contributors also discuss how having ASD as a part of your life can make you reevaluate what is really important.
Verdict: A support group that's always in session, minus the autism politics and competition, at your fingertips! What parents of children with ASD can gain from this volume is a feeling of not being alone and a situation or circumstance that they can relate to as they navigate the world of ASD. Professionals can gain a better understanding of what their clients/patients (and their parents) deal with on a daily basis. An excellent addition to any public library collection."
-Library Journal Xpress Review, June 24, 2010

"Although autism spectrum disorder is the fastest-growing developmental disability with an estimated one child in a hundred falling somewhere on the spectrum, the initial diagnosis of autism can be extremely isolating for families. Many parents, not having known any individuals or families in similar situations, often find themselves at a loss, overwhelmed by their child's needs and their own grief, worry, and need for knowledge.

One excellent starting point for parents of newly-diagnosed children would be Gravity Pulls You In, an anthology of prose and verse written by mothers and fathers of autistic children. The thirty-three essays and poems are unique to the writers' specific situations, but most all of them speak to the ways autism has shaped, for better or worse, their lives.

What makes this volume stand out, in addition to the superlative writing and honest sharing, are its themes of connection and humanity. While the individuals profiled in the selections do fall somewhere on the autism spectrum, readers will come away from the anthology realizing that, more importantly, all of us, autistic or not, share a common humanity."
-Disability Resources Online

"This book is a collection of poems and short stories submitted by parents of children with autism. The entries are about children of all ages and cover the gamut of emotions experienced by each of the authors. One mother describes the agonizing guilt and torment she feels when caring for her dying autistic son. Another tells of her experience when adopting a child with autism. Some relay frustration with the medical and educational systems while others boast proudly of their child's accomplishments and successes. One tells of early experiences before an actual diagnosis, while others tell of the numerous therapies and medical investigations which followed. Some of these stories are uplifting. Others are marked with despair. All are insightful and offer a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of families and their unique experiences with autism.

Although not a text book for occupational therapists, this book does provide a great deal of insight into the perspectives of parents who have children with autism. When providing services to this very special group, it is important to understand the challenges for families of children with sensory, communicative, or behavioral issues. Much can be learned by listening to these parents who love and care for their children. Much can also be learned from the children themselves. The editor's five year old son, for instance, shares his perspective that although the earth is spinning very quickly we do not fall off because of gravity…because gravity pulls us in!"
-Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, October 2010

"Autism is one of those issues about which no one whose lives it touches takes a neutral position. Like the issue of disability at large there is a divide between those who see it as an individual problem which the medical profession is out to cure and those who look at disability as an aspect of their identity and seek accommodation rather than cure. Gravity Pulls You In (Woodbine House, 2010) is one attempt to add civility and perspective to the conversation. In the book's introduction editor Kyra Anderson spells out one of the ways in which people divide around autism. Many parents look at autism as something their child has and, as a result, are looking for a cure. Autism advocates, on the other hand, tend to see autism as 'a fundamental part of who they are', and parents who agree with them, will say that their child is autistic.

The subtitle of Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum sets up the parameters that the editors, Anderson and Vicki Forman, are working within. The book consists of essays written by parents who are relaying their experiences interspersed with poetry, also by parents with children on the autism spectrum. The threefold division of the book loosely reflects what Anderson calls 'the threefold journey: discovery/diagnosis, fear/grief, acceptance/lessons learned' that these writers have been through with their children. What binds the book together is the common experience of having a child on the autism spectrum. As Chantal Sicile-Kira says in her essay, 'It happens to us all. At some point or another, we become members of a club we never dreamed of joining. Membership is bestowed upon us whether we want it or not.'

The members of this club have a variety of experiences to relate, many of which overlap, collage-like into common themes, so that the interested reader may as easily approach the book as a sampler, choosing the style or subject that interests her, as read the book straight through, without any loss to the spirit of the collection."
Wordgathering

"The stories in the moving anthology Gravity Pulls You In tell us many truths about motherhood and perhaps the most important one is this: there is no single universal truth about motherhood.

I have often said to friends that having the second child is less jarring, with the assumption that once you're on the planet parenthood, at least you don't have to move. The mothers in this book would either dispute me or remind me the planet is very large, indeed, larger than I imagined when I shared that truth of mine, as if it was the truth.

These tales of parenting children on the autism spectrum describe a parenthood that doesn't look familiar to many of us. The stories don't include those experiences our society assumes are universal to parents. These parents may not wait the same amount of time for the first smile or first word that the parenting guides allot, and they may even have stopped waiting. While it'd be easy to say that all parents have to let go of timetables and love kids on their own terms, that's more true for some parents than others.

Some of what these essays describe will remain foreign territory for most of us: hospitals and health crises and violent outbursts. In the book's preface, co-editor Kyra Anderson describes the sense of being plucked from her orbit and being tossed into a new solar system when her son was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.

I found so much nourishment from these essays and poems.There were some that simply took my breath away, like Maggie Kast's 'No Pity,' an essay that eloquently describes her long hospital vigil for her grown and very ill son. Kristen Spina's 'Birthdays,' the story of preparing her five-year-old son to attend birthday parties, deftly describes the potential boobytraps in seemingly normal childhood rituals. In 'The Visit,' Laura Shumaker captures the completely bittersweet and thorny experience of parenting an 18-year-old with autism, including the unexpected moments of seeing him shine, if not necessarily directly for you.

Yet what moved me more than the individual pieces of writing was the way these stories together illuminate how we can all better support and even celebrate this vast range of our parenthood experiences (and really, let's face it, of our lives). It's the conclusion co-editor Vicki Forman draws in her beautiful essay 'The Mother at the Swings,' that finally you share your experience with the interested mother at the swings who imagines the swings are the same for all children, deep down, so that she can better understand you, and better understand the next person she meets who 'happens to be different,' and so that she can help her own child learn 'how to embrace and treasure what makes us all different. And the same.'"
-Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser for Great Schools

"Got a kid (or an adult son or daughter) on the autism spectrum? Got a few minutes? (Ya--I know--that's all you've got.) Read and relish any of the essays or poems from Gravity Pulls You In–Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum, edited by Kyra Anderson and Vicki Forman (Woodbine House).

I read this book in a hospital waiting room--waiting to visit my dad. While I read, I alternately smirked, laughed out loud and got teary. But among the stressed out souls in the critical care unit, nobody even noticed.

I loved this book. Unlike many essay collections, the writing doesn't try to be uplifting, inspirational or transformational. (Although sometimes it is!) Instead, articulate thoughtful parents describe snippets of life with their kids. And they ponder what it all means. Co-editor Anderson describes the question that the writers address: 'What does my child need and how can I provide this without losing my own connection to that which grounds and sustains me?'

In beautifully crafted language, the writers tell it like it is. And as you read, you nod. You think-–yes-–my kid does that too. And, yes-–I feel that way too. You feel affirmed. And you know you're hardly alone in the parallel parenting world of loving our kids with ASD.

As 'Drama Mama'–mom of an 8-year-old daughter with ASD writes:

'Autism doesn't scare me. It pisses me off sometimes. It makes me sad. It makes me frustrated and lonely and challenged but it does not end my life. It does not stunt my daughter, because she is still laughing and skipping and loving, really loving, her life.'

Right on!"
Today's Parent Special Needs Parenting blog , April 5, 2010

"And now we have Kyra Anderson's and Vicki Forman's beautifully written Gravity Pulls You In, a collection of 'perspectives on parenting children on the autism spectrum.' It is the book I can finally point to and say, 'Yes, this here -- this will give you a sense of what autism is really about, why 'autism' has no one meaning, how our families' and children's joys, pain, love, sorrow, realities feel. Yes. This will help you understand. And if you're a parent new to the world of autism, this will light your way.'"
To read the entire review and an interview with co-editor Kyra Anderson, visit Shannon Des Roches Rosa's blog

"I recently testified in support of bill to a state legislative committee. I had done my numbers research--armed with data and statistics for every possible inquiry. The first question I received was, 'Do you have any stories?' I was caught off-guard; I had neglected to illustrate my position through the power of story. The story makes it real; the story brings it home, sometimes too close to home. This is the basis of Gravity Pulls You In.

The numbers: One child out of every 100 born in the United States will be diagnosed on the autism spectrum. The story: 33 honest, personal, emotional, raw, and truthful stories from parents whose children have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum. What is more compelling: the number of 1% of births, or narratives of a mother caring for her dying 34-year-old son, and a riotous father/son outing at Hooters? I vote for the story.

Making sense of the world takes on a whole new meaning in these compelling essays from parents exploring feelings ranging from guilt to anger to acceptance. Raising a child on the autism spectrum requires the retooling of old skills and the honing of new abilities. It necessitates navigating, rethinking, and adjusting--each day, every day. Each story is uplifting and memorable, and completely accessible to any reader--those who know of someone in the autism community, or for those who do not."
-CAPHIS Consumer Connections

"Most people have some connection to autism, even if it's only a memory from their own childhood of a boy or girl who spent a lot of time on the perimeter of the playground. Too many people have a closer connection--a friend, a child. According to the Autism Society of America, autism spectrum disorders are the fastest growing developmental disability; soon no family will remain untouched.

While the numbers may be bleak, the personal stories and poems in Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum are wonderfully hopeful and authentic. You'll find no false sincerity in these accounts; the writers lay bare their mistakes, their triumphs, their despair and their hope. Their courage is evident on the page.

For instance, B.E. Pinkham shares the difficulty she faced in deciding to send her fourteen-year-old autistic son to a group residence. One day at the beach he tries to keep his younger sister under the water to play and she has to swim away, hard, to keep from being hurt. When Pinkham talks to her daughter afterwards, she admits her feelings of guilt: 'This is what happens when her parents foolishly pretend to have a normal family.'

As sad as these stories can be, they're also laugh-out-loud funny. As James Wilson writes in his essay about taking his son on an outing to a Hooters restaurant, 'I've found that when all else fails and heads start banging, only dark humor can help me cope.' This collection is full of laughter, the kind that arises out of desperation, resignation, sadness, and joy.

Not only do these parents love their children amazingly well, they write amazingly well. Lesley Quinn, for example, using second person point of view in her essay, exquisitely shapes the pattern her thoughts follow when asked by well-meaning colleagues about her daughter. '...she loves listening to movie soundtracks over and over again, and she loves dogs, and she is, in her heroic little body, a huge presence in your hurting and grateful heart, and for 100 percent of her eighteen years, she has been your biggest and most complicated blessing.'

Readers both clenched in the grip of autism and those lucky enough to have missed its grasp so far will cherish this collection of writers who are brave enough to share their worst moments along with their best ones."
-ForeWord Magazine, March 2010

"John Elder Robison says it best in the introduction to this powerful book, '...the autistic condition is really the human condition.' With approximately 1 in 100 children on the autistic spectrum, isn't it time that we, as a community, educate ourselves on the entire range of what having Autism Spectrum Disorder really looks like? Gravity Pulls You In takes all of us, not just those of us with autistic children of our own, through the challenging experience of living and fiercely loving these children. It is chock-full of extremely moving and personal stories dealing with everything from adopting a special needs child to a mother caring for her dying thirty-four-year-old son. Uplifting and heart wrenching--just like life."
-Monica Holloway, author of Cowboy & Wills: A Love Story

"There is a famous saying in the autism community: 'If you've met one autistic person, you've met ONE autistic person.' Gravity Pulls You In shows us that the same can be said for moms and dads of autistic children. This is an amazing assemblage of original voices and unique experiences! As you turn each page, as you read each beautifully wrought essay, you'll feel the cumulative power of the lives we have created, for ourselves and for our children with autism."
-Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D., author of Elijah's Cup and the Integrated Self-Advocacy Curriculum

"So often parenting with autism begins stunned and alone: we don't know anyone who has been down these paths before, and when we do meet others there's a shock of recognition and relief. Gravity Pulls You In is like a roomful of those vital first encounters: they are the voices of the experiences that we've been through, that we may have yet to come to, and that bind us together."
-Paul Collins, author of Not Even Wrong: A Father's Journey Into the Lost History of Autism

"Gravity Pulls You In offers many different perspectives about autism and Asperger's Syndrome. I loved John Elder Robison's piece about discovering he had Asperger's."
-Temple Grandin, Ph.D., author of Thinking in Pictures

Gravity Pulls You In is a remarkable anthology of essays by parents of children with autism-spectrum diagnoses. Written by parents for parents, Gravity Pulls You In has a special resonance and immediacy that frequently read like poetry and even music. Each child described is unique, with a particular poignancy to the uniqueness. Part of being a parent to such a child seems to include a journey towards a totally different experience of the world. Being able to empathize with your child can open you to new worlds and new experiences. Gravity Pulls You In is well worth reading for all educators and child development related professions, as well as other parents. Here is one quotation that is both typical and striking in its originality: 'Living with Jacob is about more than allowing the language of his mind to erase the chalk lines of my own patterns. It is about unexpected intersections, the willingness to walk blind, to discern shadows in the lay of the land. It is about the painful unburdening that comes when the mind expands to see anew (p.91).'"
-Midwest Book Review