Boomer and Me (Jo Case, Hardie Grant)

Many of Books+Publishing’s readers may already be familiar with Jo Case, who is well known in Melbourne publishing circles as an editor and reviewer. Boomer and Me, a memoir about Case’s relationship with her son Leo, is her first published book. It spans a few years of dealing with Leo’s social problems and disruptive behaviour at school, and his eventual diagnosis with the autism spectrum disorder Asperger’s syndrome. A second—and perhaps more surprising—layer of the book is Case’s discovery that she also suffers from the syndrome, which is less common in females. In this brutally honest account, Case doesn’t hold back in revealing her innermost emotions, however vicious or childish they can be at times. It’s testament to her bravery as a writer that she is seldom attractive, or even pleasant, as a narrator. This is a difficult book to read and fairly slow going, and not all readers may appreciate that Case provides quite an interesting, accurate and detailed account of living with Asperger’s. But it is well written, provides plenty of food for thought and will probably spark a lot of interest among those with an interest in the syndrome.

Hannah Francis is a bookseller at the Younger Sun Bookshop in Yarraville

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Reviews