Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism
by Jenny McCarthy
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jenny McCarthyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-26
ISBN: 0452289807
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Plume
Book Reviews of Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism
Book Review: A story about a Know-It-All Playboy bunny, with a hefty side of narcissism
Summary: 1 Stars
That's right folks! I said a story about an "I know everything" bare-my-boobs celebrity. Notice I didn't mention that this book was about a boy's struggle with autism and how a mother "healed" him, because that IS NOT what this book is about. I came across this book when a friend of mine showed it to me saying that she had bought the book to give to her mother. She had never read the book (and I use that term lightly), but she had an adult brother who had been previously diagnosed with autism and thought maybe her mother would be able to relate to the topic. After reading HALF of the book, my friend decided she could not give this book to her mother. After reading it, I can completely understand why. This book is judgemental, offensive, neurotic, and blantantly self-centered.
Where to begin?? I started reading the book with the intention of skimming it. Seventy pages later, I found myself disgusted with what I had read thus far. When I say disgusted, I mean that if Jenny McCarthy were standing right in front of me, I would have hit her over the head with this piece of trash and asked her what the hell she was thinking when she thought she was "the voice of autism". Are you kidding me??
First off, let's evaluate WHO we are getting this story from: a woman who's made her fortune (and I do mean fortune) by exploiting her body and acting like a ditzy blonde (anyone remember MTV's Blind Date?). It makes me sick that she's now making a fortune exploiting her son. A son she seemed to be ashamed of in the beginning. Case in point: after her son was diagnosed with autism, McCarthy went to the bookstore to find books on the subject. Keep in mind she didn't want to ask an employee to direct her to the section because she was "too scared to ask anyone for fear of being recognized". That's right people... She didn't want anyone to know that she had an autistic son. There is a second example of this in the book, as well. Finally, after searching for 25 minutes she "decided to tell her ego to shut the f*** up and ask for help". Can you say ashamed??? Unbelievable. Throughout the book, she states that she would do ANYTHING to help her son. I guess that's as long as no one knew she had a son with autism. In fact, McCarthy became so angered that a worker at a play gym inquired if Evan had a "mental problem" that she screamed at the woman and, inevitably, got her terminated from her job.
Now touching on McCarthy's use of language, both profanity and vulgarity. If she really wanted people to pay attention to the message in the book, then she should have refrained from using the f-word 5 times per chapter ("I still haven't seen one f***ng neurologist! Not one f***ing neurologist has come into this f***ing room...Find the f***ing doctor! Go! Find the f***ing doctor!" - and that's just in one paragraph) and writing things such as watching her son thrash in bed as he slept in such a way that it appeared he was "humping his bed". That is your son, lady! Have some respect for him. I'm sure he would appreciate America reading that he "humped his bed". I felt embarrassed for Evan.
Another person I felt embarrassed for was McCarthy's husband. The whole book encased one giant husband bashing. All about how he wasn't there for her and how could he let her go through this whole thing alone. Blah Blah Blah. What about Evan? There isn't one mention about how Evan needed his father. Total narcissism, but I'll come back to that later... The marriage is told from an entirely one-sided point of view and it isn't pretty. I am less inclined to take McCarthy's word about all that she says about her husband after reading the part where her husband picked up Evan, jumping excitedly into the pool with all their clothes on because Evan said he wanted to go swimming.
As a nurse, I was completely appalled (although not surprised) with the way she refers to medical staff. Completely misinformed and unappreciative. I'm sorry, but last I heard, they didn't give out a medical license when you pushed a baby out of your womb. When did being a mother mean you became all-knowing? I can't count how many times I rolled my eyes when McCarthy referred to her "mommy instincts". Not being a mother, I can't understand the mental bond between a mother and a child, but I do understand that, as a PERSON, I can't possibly know what is the best treatment for someone. Not even doctors know exactly what the "best" treatments are. Sometimes it a process of elimination to see what works for THAT patient. Personally, if I were taking care of her son, I would become offended at the way she spoke to me. She makes such a huge (and psychotically rude) spectacle of getting a neurologist in to see her son, that when he finally comes to see him, she is SO grateful that she refers to him as "Dr. I Can Fix Any Brain Except My Own". Later, she refers to him as "brain dead". Kind of ironic since he's a neurologist...
As an average working schmoe, I was offeneded by the flaunting of her financial resources (buying a heart monitor for $5,000 so she could sleep better at night, or paying $4,000 a month for in-home treatments). I am sure many many mothers would spend any amount of money to make their children better. Unfortunately Ms. McCartney, not EVERYONE has millions of dollars they can spend on medical expenses. I felt this was a slap in the face to all the other parents who live with an austic child that cannot afford to buy expensive foods, dietary supplements, or treatments. I also absolutely loved the various times she mentioned being able to see the "best" doctors immediately (because Evan "deserved the best") instead of having to wait several months like everyone else. Must be nice.... Ms. McCartney, are you aware that you are not the only parent with an autistic child? Of course not, because it's all about YOU!
Which brings me to McCarthy's blatant display of narcissism. McCarthy's rantings about how hard things were on HER ("There wasn't much of a nest egg...the pressure was always on me to pull us through...") came off as a ranting of a 4 year old child. Throughout the entire book it's ME ME ME or MY son MY son MY son. Another wonderful addition to the book is McCarthey's conceited attitude. Case in point on page 70: "I don't think anybody in the world would have been able to get on a plane and do what I was about to do after finding out her child was autistic...We all (celebrities) suffer like everyone else. Don't let designer shoes fool you." Not quite Ms McCarthy. Did I miss the paragraph before that where she was about to cure world hunger or bring peace in time of war? Because all I remember reading there was that she was going on a talk show. Um, EXCUSE ME??? Wow, getting paid to go on TV for 5 minutes and hawk your current book so that you can "get another book deal" sounds rough to me. Such an ordeal... I can tell you exactly where in the book I was overwhelmed with the desire to watch a public display of a mass burning of this crap: page 77. Now, I'm not a psychologist, but the term "Delusions of Grandeur" came to mind when I read this next part: "I was really hoping to find one (a book) that said, "I cured autism", but I didn't. I remember thinking, 'Well, maybe that's the one I'm supposed to write someday.'" Another example comes on page 85: "Now I realized God had me write those books simply as a warm-up. To get moms' attention. This is the book I hope will shift the world. This is the book I was born to write." Nice thought, but off by a long shot.
I was initially interested in her story, but half-way through the book, I wanted to stop reading it. I was so disgusted. However, I put myself through agony to read about Evan's outcome. Admittedly, I wanted to also see if McCarthy could get much worse. I have to say she didn't disappoint. She goes on to place blame on her husband, disregarding her father as a potential source of help because she didn't want "2 special needs people living in her house" (since when is being blind in ONE eye considered "special needs"?), unfairly and unjustly judging other parents who did not follow HER ways of treatment, and basically trying to come off as Evan's savior, having, what sounds like to her, single handedly "curing" Evan of autism.
Don't let the pretty face and celebrity persona fool you. This is not a good resource about autism and how to cope with it. If I could have rated it any lower than 1 star, believe me, I would have. Basically, I can summarize this review into 1 sentence: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME. Boy, am I sorry I did!
Summary of Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism
The New York Times bestseller that is an inspiring ?story of hope? (People) for parents of autistic children
One morning Jenny McCarthy was having a cup of coffee when she sensed something was wrong. She ran into her two-year-old son Evan?s room and found him having a seizure. Doctor after doctor misdiagnosed Evan until?after many harrowing, life-threatening episodes?one good doctor discovered that Evan is autistic.
With a foreword from Dr. David Feinberg, medical director of the Resnick Neuro-psychiatric Hospital at UCLA, and an introduction by Jerry J. Kartzinel, a top pediatric autism specialist, Louder Than Words follows Jenny as she discovered an intense combination of behavioral therapy, diet, and supplements that became the key to saving Evan from autism. Her story sheds much-needed light on autism through her own heartbreak, struggle, and ultimately hopeful example of how a parent can shape a child?s life and happiness.
One morning Jenny McCarthy was having a cup of coffee when she sensed something was wrong. She ran into her two-year-old son Evan?s room and found him having a seizure. Doctor after doctor misdiagnosed Evan until?after many harrowing, life-threatening episodes?one good doctor discovered that Evan is autistic.
With a foreword from Dr. David Feinberg, medical director of the Resnick Neuro-psychiatric Hospital at UCLA, and an introduction by Jerry J. Kartzinel, a top pediatric autism specialist, Louder Than Words follows Jenny as she discovered an intense combination of behavioral therapy, diet, and supplements that became the key to saving Evan from autism. Her story sheds much-needed light on autism through her own heartbreak, struggle, and ultimately hopeful example of how a parent can shape a child?s life and happiness.
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