Love Anthony

Some books only stir and tug at a reader’s heart, others, like Love Anthony, leave behind imprints of inspiration.This book focuses on two women in Nantucket, who are distraught and overwhelmed with grief.Beth Ellis is grieving from her husband’s infidelity and Olivia Donatelli from the loss of her son and her marriage. Beth and Olivia will eventually discover that they both hold close to their heart, a common bond. And it is through this tender bond that they will both find, their road to healing.Beth is a writer and is crafting a story about a child with autism. Her inspiration for this story came from a memory of a little boy whose excitement grew every time the ocean water splashed over his row of rocks. Olivia was an editor, or at least she used to work as one, but that was before her life began to unravel. Now, for at least the time being, she was staying in her Nantucket cottage; the one she kept when her marriage ended. It was what she wanted anyway. David could keep the house in Hingham; she didn’t care, it came with too many memories. She needed a rest from them, especially from the memory of that awful day when she lost Anthony. Olivia wasn’t sure just how long she would stay in Nantucket. She knew eventually, she’d have to go back to work, but for the time being, she was going to try her hand at photography. Everyone it seemed wanted a family portrait here in Nantucket, on the beach. In fact, that’s how she met Beth Ellis. Beth hired her for her photography services.Lisa Genova has a talent for hooking the reader from the very beginning and placing them in the midst of all her characters’ lives. I know, I immediately cared for Beth and Olivia, and wanted to know more about them, but it was the little boy Anthony who really captured my heart.The author gives her readers a precious gift, the ability to see the world through an autistic child’s eyes: Anthony’s. No reader will be able to look at an autistic child the same way again because with each child, they’ll see Anthony, the boy they fell in love with and now understand.There is a mystical piece to the story, which may bother some readers. I loved it and felt that it only enhanced Lisa Genova’s story. I work every day with autistic children and found that the way the author decoded the mysteries of Autism for the reader was not only profound, but very accurate.I highly recommend adding this book to your library. If I could give it ten stars I would, it’s that good. Don’t miss it.

Reading this novel was like relaxing to the rhythmic striking of waves on the beach at Nantucket Island, the story's setting. Genova's intoxicating style gives subtle meanings to everyday activities, and her sonorous prose keeps one intrigued and eager to continue.Though the book's theme is billed as autism, the first third of narrative analyzes the collapsing marriages of Beth and Olivia. Beth, the mother of three girls, receives a puzzling birthday card that says her husband Jimmy is sleeping with and is in love with the card's sender. After Jimmy admits the months-long affair, Beth "stands at the sink, motionless." Olivia and her husband David agree to separate after the gut-wrenching grief of parenting Anthony, an autistic boy, "who didn't speak, who didn't like to be touched, who didn't make eye contact," and who lived only nine years. Olivia remembers the pediatric neurologist asking, "How's your Marriage?" He knew the cause and effect of autism and divorce. The island's early spring of blustery winds sweeping across gray seas seems to intensify Beth's and Olivia's sorrows.Beth, a former journalist, starts writing a novel, and Olivia reads her diary pages from mothering Anthony. The two women live in the same part of town but have not met. Strangely, that is, very strangely, Beth's story is in the first person voice of an autistic boy. Her knowledge of autism seems limited. She had watched a boy line up small, smooth rocks at the beach, a wave scatter them, and the boy start over, again and again. And she had read a few books on the subject such as "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon, a mystery narrated by an autistic boy. However, how could she possibly have the foundation required to understand the autistic mind?I hit the proverbial stumbling block.However, at a book festival, I had attended a panel discussion of four authors, which included Lisa Genova, who mentioned her degrees in neuroscience. Also, she and her sister-in-law had babies at about the same time, and since they lived close to each other, jointly raised their children. Unfortunately, they eventually discovered that her sister-in-law's son was autistic. Of course, Genova had closely followed the boy's life on a daily basis. She mesmerized the book festival audience when, from this book, she read an excerpt of Anthony's thinking--"My brain is made up of different rooms. Each room is for doing a different thing. For example, I have an Eyes Room for seeing things and an Ears Room for hearing things. . . Sometimes when I'm in the hallways travelling to a different room, I get lost and confused and caught in Between and feel like I'm nowhere. This is when my brain feels like maybe it's a little bit broken . . ."Therefore, though the fictional character Beth did not have sufficient background to master Anthony's dialogue, the author clearly did, so I continued reading. And yes, I was rewarded with deep insights into both the mind of the autistic child and the parents' process of denial, anger, and acceptance.Genova should have dropped hints along the way, explaining the source of Beth's writing, but finally, in the end, it's resolved. In the incredibly enlightened last chapter, Olivia's desperate question of WHY (did she bear an autistic child) is answered.

I have enjoyed all of the Lisa Genova books I have read. They show how certain illnesses/disabilities affect not only the patient, but also the family.

Oh wow. Just finished Love Anthony this morning. Terrifically well researched and beautifully written. I loved how Beth finished her own book - how she identified with Anthony. Won't say any more than that because the ending is so special I'd hate to spoil it for anyone. This is a powerful affirmation of autism in all aspects of its horror and glory. I've read a lot on autism for personal reasons, but as a novel this is in a league with "600 Hours of Edward". Congratulations Lisa Genova, I look forward to more if her writing.

Love Anthony was a challenging book to read. It evoked real emotion and challenge. This novel was so real, it was personal and tapped into life's difficulties in relationships. It gave hope and encouragement to walk life's journey slowly with those you love and trust. Autism has huge challenges for everyone but it has so much to teach us.

I have read several books by Lisa Genova. All told from different point of view (the person with the 'condition, disease or disorder' and the people around the person).As a physician who takes care of patients with neurological disorders, it is refreshing to read a book told from a non-MD point of view, one that doesn't attempt to answer the "whys" but rather, tells us what is happening, how the medical condition affects the person and his/her relationships with people around him/her.Love, Anthony is a perfect example of how one can see a child, a person with autism and feel empathy, not fear. Feel love, unconditionally given by the parents and caregivers.I am certainly looking forward to more books from Lisa Genova.

Lisa Genova como siempre nos lleva de la mano del padecimiento con la descripción de lo que pasa a 360° del paciente. Comprendiendo un poco mejor estas tristes enfermedades.

Love Anthony ist ein sehr berührendes, aber auch aufklärendes Buch, was Autismus anbelangt.Aus der Sicht des betroffenen Kindes und der ebenso betroffenen Mutter ein Stück Lebens- und Liebesgeschichte, die mal wieder zeigt, dass man auch ein "nicht ganz perfektes" Kind über alles lieben kann - aber auch, wie schwer dies manchmal sein mag, wenn vom Kind vermeintlich nicht so viel zurück kommt. Großartig und sehr, sehr lesenswert!