Today's suggested reading is a bit different from the other posted so far. First and most obviously "With the Light" by Kieko Tobe is a Manga.
But there are no demons in this graphic novel. There are no giant robots or mecha. There are no grandiose villains with plans to destroy the world. There are no super powered teen girls or cute talking animals.
There is only Sachiko Azuma, a young newlywed giving birth in the dawn light to her first born son. She and her husband are beyond happy and she gladly steps into the shoes of a mother and a homemaker. But slowly, bit by bit she realizes that her son is different from other children. He does not want to be touched. Loud noises frighten him but he can't seem to hear her voice. First a doctor suspected he is deaf, but then the diagnosis comes in. Her baby boy has autism.
The author envisioned the eight book series as an accessible education tool for a Japan that had almost no idea what Autism was in the early 2000's. The first thing a doctor would ask when discussing the disorder was "Have you seen Rainman?". A foreign film was the closest cultural reference any of the struggling parents had. So she gathered together medical professionals, top artists and writers, and parents with their true stories and poured all of that expertise and personal knowledge into the most accessible format in Japan. The result was a work of art that still resonates a decade later.
But there are no demons in this graphic novel. There are no giant robots or mecha. There are no grandiose villains with plans to destroy the world. There are no super powered teen girls or cute talking animals.
There is only Sachiko Azuma, a young newlywed giving birth in the dawn light to her first born son. She and her husband are beyond happy and she gladly steps into the shoes of a mother and a homemaker. But slowly, bit by bit she realizes that her son is different from other children. He does not want to be touched. Loud noises frighten him but he can't seem to hear her voice. First a doctor suspected he is deaf, but then the diagnosis comes in. Her baby boy has autism.
The author envisioned the eight book series as an accessible education tool for a Japan that had almost no idea what Autism was in the early 2000's. The first thing a doctor would ask when discussing the disorder was "Have you seen Rainman?". A foreign film was the closest cultural reference any of the struggling parents had. So she gathered together medical professionals, top artists and writers, and parents with their true stories and poured all of that expertise and personal knowledge into the most accessible format in Japan. The result was a work of art that still resonates a decade later.
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