Love Anthony by Lisa Genova (2013)

An amazing book on autism and unconditional love. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, as I really enjoyed the way it evolved. Two women living on Nantucket year round, which is deserted in the off season, like Saugatuck. You have to really love it to live there, as nothing is happening in the winter - businesses are closed, it is hard to make a living. Then during the summer you have to put up with the the crowds of tourists and summer people. You have to find something that can earn you enough off the tourists to tide you over, or be a teacher or something that serves the year round population. The local population is still active – they have families, sports & other after school activities, book clubs, a library :). I know I am totally digressing, but I am heading out to Montana, a sparsely populated state, that still creates a close sense of community with the few people it does have, as does a place like Nantucket. I like to understand how people live. Like where do the Vail store clerks and ski area workers live? Not in Vail – way too expensive. 

Beth finds out her husband has been seeing another woman and kicks him out. This triggers a self-examination that leads her back to creative writing and she seems to be fascinated by autistic children. Olivia has come to Nantucket to grieve the loss of her autistic son. She needs the space and time to heal. I liked that she discovered she could use her photography skills to earn some income.

This book is largely about autism, and gives us a great insight into the autistic mind. A mind a little further along the autistic spectrum than the person in the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time that is mentioned in this book. I liked these parts of the book best, and that both women learned something. The unconditional love depicted was also beautiful, touching and difficult.

This book made me think of my own life and taught me something, as a good book should. For example, a therapist asks a couple to write down what they need to feel wanted, happy, secure, and loved. The guy can do it easily, the woman struggles. Made me think what my answers would be.