Dancing with Max by Emily Colson is the best book I have read so far about parenting an autistic child. It's the first time in reading one of these books that the autistic child felt present in the narrative and not hidden behind the author-parent's fears and insecurities. In the last two books that I read like this the parents seemed either overly apologetic for their child or simply left a hole in the story where the autistic child should be. Emily Colson, though frequently and comically mortified by some of the social blunders of her son, Max, presents him to the world with confidence and pride, faithful that he will be a blessing to others just as he has been a blessing to her. Despite her own relentless efforts, her son was never "cured", but she writes with peace and great joy about their journey together and the spiritual truths that she encounters along the way are ones that would benefit any parent, not just the parent of a special needs child. In this book Ms. Colson managed, without sugar-coating the struggles, to calm some of my fears and make me laugh. I am very glad I read it.
