We're Not Broken

Changing the Autism Conversation

By: Eric Garcia

Narrated by: Eric Garcia

“This book is a message from autistic people to their parents, friends, teachers, coworkers and doctors showing what life is like on the spectrum. It’s also my love letter to autistic people. For too long, we have been forced to navigate a world where all the road signs are written in another language.”

With a reporter’s eye and an insider’s perspective, Eric Garcia shows what it’s like to be autistic across America.

Garcia began writing about autism because he was frustrated by the media’s coverage of it; the myths that the disorder is caused by vaccines, the narrow portrayals of autistic people as white men working in Silicon Valley. His own life as an autistic person didn’t look anything like that. He is Latino, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and works as a journalist covering politics in Washington D.C. Garcia realized he needed to put into writing what so many autistic people have been saying for years; autism is a part of their identity, they don’t need to be fixed.

In We’re Not Broken, Garcia uses his own life as a springboard to discuss the social and policy gaps that exist in supporting those on the spectrum. From education to healthcare, he explores how autistic people wrestle with systems that were not built with them in mind. At the same time, he shares the experiences of all types of autistic people, from those with higher support needs, to autistic people of color, to those in the LGBTQ community. In doing so, Garcia gives his community a platform to articulate their own needs, rather than having others speak for them, which has been the standard for far too long.

Read by the Author.

©2021 Eric Garcia (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Everyone should read this book

This book is excellent. Eric presents his story straight forward, giving insights to his lived autistic experience. I would recommend everyone read this, so that autism is understood, accepted, & normalized.

Excellent Book

It was good to hear the perspective from the author, a person living with autism.

Intuitively Hearty

I recommend everyone reads this book. even if you have someone in your life that lives with special needs - everyone should understand this perspective and respect, cherish and uphold it. I have a younger brother with special needs/on the spectrum and not enough people are open enough to learning more about how we should be accommodate them and their needs, wishes and desires. The book is riveting, gut wrenching and enlightening all at the same. must read.

An important book

As an autistic adult in my 50's, I spent over 30 years not knowing my "oddness" had a name, and the rest feeling unable to express my truth for fear of being rejected, limited, or misunderstood. Garcia's book gives me hope that the younger generations, which includes my own children, won't have to face the same things I did, and can be proud of who they are and how they're made.

I encourage everyone, especially my fellow autistics parents and everyone who knows someone with autism to read this book, because the overarching narrative about autism is, and has been, so wrong. Autistic individuals have enriched humanity throughout history; think how much more we can bring if we can simple be ourselves.

Informative, fresh look on autism

I am a mother of an autistic child and I found this book to be so enlightening. There is so much out there about autism that it can feel like you’re drowning in information that is often time misleading or flat out harmful to the autistic community. I appreciated Garcia’s honest and comprehensive overview of the history and implications of varying support systems and practices. I particularly enjoyed the representation of individuals with higher levels of support needs, as this is a portion of the autistic community that I often see underrepresented or leftout completely. Highly recommend!

Insightful look into autistic individuals

I loved it. This book means a lot to my as someone who wasn't diagnosed with autism until adulthood (23). It covers a variety of aspects of autism and clearly explained a lot of background information about the roles of parent advocates and autistic self advocates. The negative reviews I saw focus on the book's inclusion of politics. As the other is a political journalist and autism advocacy requires engagement with politicians, this was unavoidable. The author handles this appropriately, with nonpartisan criticisms of members of both parties when they speak inaccurately about autism, particularly in regards to vaccine misinformation. I feel seen and heard in this book.

New Favorite Book

This book was right up my alley, it has a beautiful portrayal of the historic background of Autism. Eric beautifully illustrates multiple autistic experiences from an array of different autistic adults and families. 10/10 do recommend for auties to read who have a special interests in political science, history, and/or autism!

I wish my family would read this

if there was one book about being autistic that I would recommend, it would be this one.

Comprehensive and thorough

An excellent overview of the challenges faced by the autistic community. Useful discussion of policies and history in the major arenas of life (education, healthcare, dating, etc.)

Insightful book that can help many autistic people

A good overview of the autistic movement. Standout chapters were the chapter on gender/LGBTQ, and the chapter on race. Eric Garcia skilfully weaves in his own story as a Mexican American while telling the story of autistic Latinos in a way I really appreciated as an autistic trans Latina.