Elder Flower

For all the insanity of Augusten Burroughs’ parents, they produced a pair of excellent memoirists. Burroughs is the author of Running with Scissors, which wryly chronicled his dysfunctional family. His older brother, John Elder Robison, presents his own take on that cracked household in Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s. Asperger’s Syndrome is a milder form of autism that often creates difficulty in simple social interactions. Robison shows how these challenges manifested — as a kid, he was confused about the inappropriateness of “petting friends.” On the flip side, Asperger’s also apparently gave the author an incredible focus, which opened some doors — like crafting “smoking” guitars for KISS. Look Me in the Eye offers a unique understanding of being wired to a different wavelength than your peers, but despite his setbacks, Robison communicates exceptionally well in print. From shooting a snake during a KISS tour to jailing his brother in giant holes in the yard, there's never a dull moment in his life — or in his memoir.
Thu., Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., 2008