Ben an in-denial alcoholic appears to struggle with his autistic child and seems like his marriage is failing. Emma, trying to cope just as much as she can, wants to end the marriage in order to help Jonah's case in an upcoming tribunal to place him in the right school for autistic kids and move in, for good. Georg who is Ben's father, soon takes Jonah and Ben to live with him, watching after Jonah and essentially picking up Ben's slack.
I can't seem to wrap my had around to find the right words to describe the emotions I felt while listening to this audiobook. The jungle of feelings that a parent with a child with ASD is something hard to explain. Although I work with kids with ASD every day, I never thought about listening to an audiobook on first-hand experience about the hardships parents face while also trying to survive in marriage.
I was curious to know what "Shtum" might mean and searched up to find that it means 'silence' in Yiddish. Jem Lester created an outstanding story with realistic scenarios that come from his experience having an autistic child. The reader will find this story comical yet heart-warming, even though for me I felt like the author placed a very pessimistic tone on the book, or perhaps it was the narrator's tone of voice? or that Ben was an unlucky man? I am still trying to unscramble what it is.
Taking into account all the details from the childhood of each character, the lack of communication, and their background, it demonstrated perfectly that each character came to grow such personality because of their past and how they were raised. I should mention that I was hating Emma yet also tried to understand her situation, but as the story unveils, I was able to reduce my judgment and increase my praise for Emma. Every chapter has something that leaves you hunting for more in the next chapter which kind of makes it addicting in a way.
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning about autism, parenthood with an autistic child, marriage, alcoholism, and a roller coaster of emotions.
Rating: 5
Author: Jem Lester
Format: Audiobook
Published year: 2017
Genre: Fiction
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