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faemorgan's review
5.0
I found this book to be very educational and emotional. I learnt a lot about this part of autism that I was unaware of, even as a person on the autistic spectrum myself; to all the people that contributed to this book, fantastic work everyone.
dominic_t's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
1.0
This is a really important collection of essays, but I am rating it one star due to some very dangerous misinformation that I'll describe in detail later. The authors of this anthology explored what it means to be Autistic people of color. They covered a lot of different topics, and I appreciated the variety of writing styles. They made a deliberate choice not to edit out minor grammatical mistakes because they felt like focusing on "proper grammar" would erase the voices of the writers. I think this was a good choice overall, but there were a couple of instances where essays could have used a bit more editing for the sake of clarity.
One thing I really disliked about the book was the visual art section. It was in grayscale, so I couldn't really make out many details. I wish they would have either printed it in color or left it out entirely.
Okay, now onto my reason for rating this book one star. In the introduction, Lydia references Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter, and says that he was a survivor of ABA therapy who targeted an ABA therapy classroom. I researched this, and I can find nothing to support either assertion. I found no documentation that he ever went through ABA therapy, and he didn't target any specific classroom. This is a really fucked up thing to say without proof. It's dangerous and irresponsible to present this as fact.
They did decide to discontinue publication of the book. They gave their reasoning here: https://autismandrace.com/all-the-weight-of-our-dreams-anthology/.
One thing I really disliked about the book was the visual art section. It was in grayscale, so I couldn't really make out many details. I wish they would have either printed it in color or left it out entirely.
Okay, now onto my reason for rating this book one star. In the introduction, Lydia references Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter, and says that he was a survivor of ABA therapy who targeted an ABA therapy classroom. I researched this, and I can find nothing to support either assertion. I found no documentation that he ever went through ABA therapy, and he didn't target any specific classroom. This is a really fucked up thing to say without proof. It's dangerous and irresponsible to present this as fact.
They did decide to discontinue publication of the book. They gave their reasoning here: https://autismandrace.com/all-the-weight-of-our-dreams-anthology/.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Electroshock therapy, abuse by medical professionals, institutionalizationsjbshannon's review
5.0
A groundbreaking, essential book for everyone. Incredibly thought-provoking, emotional and informative.
raincorbyn's review
5.0
A vital, and essential book for anyone interested in disability, neurodiversity, race, and gender/sexuality, which should be everyone. The autistic experience is under-represented by actual autistic people, and the experience of autistic POC even more so.
This book collects mostly essays, with some fiction, poetry, art, and photography by autistic people of color from a variety of backgrounds. As with any anthology, I some sections resonated more with me than others, but those latter helped me remember that no group, not even a micro-intersection, is a monolith in opinion.
The book's abundance is also a drawback, to me - in its 500 pages, several essays accomplished similar goals. While there is value in showing some experiences are more prevalent, some more aggressive selection editing would have made a tighter book, IMO. I applaud the crip copy-editorial choice however, to not over-correct academic spelling, grammar, and syntax. Doing so would uphold Anglocentric, Academic, Abled writing styles as Correct, and everything else as wrong, when, as the content of the book attests, diversity makes us all richer.
This book collects mostly essays, with some fiction, poetry, art, and photography by autistic people of color from a variety of backgrounds. As with any anthology, I some sections resonated more with me than others, but those latter helped me remember that no group, not even a micro-intersection, is a monolith in opinion.
The book's abundance is also a drawback, to me - in its 500 pages, several essays accomplished similar goals. While there is value in showing some experiences are more prevalent, some more aggressive selection editing would have made a tighter book, IMO. I applaud the crip copy-editorial choice however, to not over-correct academic spelling, grammar, and syntax. Doing so would uphold Anglocentric, Academic, Abled writing styles as Correct, and everything else as wrong, when, as the content of the book attests, diversity makes us all richer.
historicalmaterialgirl's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Accountability Statement about this text: https://autismandrace.com/all-the-weight-of-our-dreams-anthology/
While there are problems with this book that led to the discontinuation of its publication, I still learned a lot about how anti-autistic ableism happens at the juncture of racism. I've been reading about autism as a way to broaden my understanding and connection to a community I am a part of, and it essential for me to not build them on primarily white people, as doing so will lead to harmful gaps in my connections and a fundamental misunderstanding in my analysis. I think it is so healing to read the work of people who are marginalized / oppressed in similar ways that you are. It's a step in re-humanizing one's self.
Since this version does problems I would recommend being on the look out for the second edition!
While there are problems with this book that led to the discontinuation of its publication, I still learned a lot about how anti-autistic ableism happens at the juncture of racism. I've been reading about autism as a way to broaden my understanding and connection to a community I am a part of, and it essential for me to not build them on primarily white people, as doing so will lead to harmful gaps in my connections and a fundamental misunderstanding in my analysis. I think it is so healing to read the work of people who are marginalized / oppressed in similar ways that you are. It's a step in re-humanizing one's self.
Since this version does problems I would recommend being on the look out for the second edition!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Racism
choirqueer's review
5.0
This extremely important and powerful anthology is already my most-recommended book of the year.
alexcreece's review
4.0
This is such an important book, but it’s difficult to rate an anthology, particularly one of this length. It contains a variety of genres, including essays (both personal and academic), poetry, prose and artwork. Some pieces are stronger than others, but its scope means that it can resonate with a wide readership — there’s something for everyone!
I would especially recommend this anthology to other people in the autistic community, as we tend to be overwhelmingly white. Although there are many barriers faced by autistic people in general, we must appreciate the additional barriers experienced by autistic people of colour. We cannot foster a supportive, accessible and inclusive community if we overlook the intersection of race and disability. This anthology contains invaluable lived experiences and a lot of heart.
A couple of caveats:
While the minimal copyediting wasn’t an issue for me (it’s great to read people’s authentic voices), I felt that the general structure was rather vague. The chapter headings/themes overlap with each other quite a bit, so they didn’t add much to the overall flow of the book. I also would’ve loved for the autistry pieces to be dispersed throughout.
I occasionally got confused by some of the more satirical works. It may have been helpful to clarify that certain parts are intended to be read sarcastically.
In some of the works, the justified text alignment creates noticeably irregular spacing across the page. For readers with dyslexia and similar conditions, you might prefer to read this book in an electronic/audio format.
This anthology is best suited to people who have an existing knowledge of autism and neurodiversity. For general readers, make sure you know the basics first, including key terms. Then get reading!
I would especially recommend this anthology to other people in the autistic community, as we tend to be overwhelmingly white. Although there are many barriers faced by autistic people in general, we must appreciate the additional barriers experienced by autistic people of colour. We cannot foster a supportive, accessible and inclusive community if we overlook the intersection of race and disability. This anthology contains invaluable lived experiences and a lot of heart.
A couple of caveats:
While the minimal copyediting wasn’t an issue for me (it’s great to read people’s authentic voices), I felt that the general structure was rather vague. The chapter headings/themes overlap with each other quite a bit, so they didn’t add much to the overall flow of the book. I also would’ve loved for the autistry pieces to be dispersed throughout.
I occasionally got confused by some of the more satirical works. It may have been helpful to clarify that certain parts are intended to be read sarcastically.
In some of the works, the justified text alignment creates noticeably irregular spacing across the page. For readers with dyslexia and similar conditions, you might prefer to read this book in an electronic/audio format.
This anthology is best suited to people who have an existing knowledge of autism and neurodiversity. For general readers, make sure you know the basics first, including key terms. Then get reading!
birdbeakbeast's review
5.0
letter from the editors: https://autismandrace.com/all-the-weight-of-our-dreams-anthology/
courtneyfalling's review
4.0
Edit: I am adding this statement from the editors to my review, explaining their decision to pull the first edition from publication and enter into an accountability process: https://autismandrace.com/all-the-weight-of-our-dreams-anthology/.
//
Original review, unedited but with some context added:
Okay, wow, this collection was an amazing read, for so many reasons.
1) This is a great, clear example of ethical editing. (Clarification: when I say "ethical" here, I mean the editing process promoted contributor agency and support over content and grammatical editing that would reinforce gatekeeping based in class and formal education levels. Editors actively engaged with how the editing process is itself political and aimed to center marginalized, particularly multiply marginalized, contributors in the creation of their editing approaches and practices. I do not mean the decisions referenced in the editors' statement, where as they say, "In our attempt to publish as widely and broadly as possible, represent as many different perspectives of autistic people of color as possible, and avoid ableist, racist, and classist editing practices, we made some incredibly harmful choices.") The collection as a whole fits so well together and the section breaks make for a semi-structured emotional and thematic arc while still letting contributors' own words take center stage.
2) These are narratives that, quite frankly, are buried in most settings and deserve so much more attention. The political power and revolutionary/reclamatory punch of their presentation here is incredible.
3) There are so many complicated experiences and emotions brought up here. The idea of feeling outside of yourself/shifted in relation to who you're "supposed" to be or how one is "supposed" to understand individuality or self-world separation was really well-explained in so many pieces. The role of "passing" or of not feeling like a full member of one's family or racial group related heavily, as did feeling too scared and/or traumatized to assert identity and seek resources (we live in such an unsafe world). I feel like I absorbed so much from this collection to keep thinking through in working to unravel/dismantle/build new, better systems over in the future.
//
Original review, unedited but with some context added:
Okay, wow, this collection was an amazing read, for so many reasons.
1) This is a great, clear example of ethical editing. (Clarification: when I say "ethical" here, I mean the editing process promoted contributor agency and support over content and grammatical editing that would reinforce gatekeeping based in class and formal education levels. Editors actively engaged with how the editing process is itself political and aimed to center marginalized, particularly multiply marginalized, contributors in the creation of their editing approaches and practices. I do not mean the decisions referenced in the editors' statement, where as they say, "In our attempt to publish as widely and broadly as possible, represent as many different perspectives of autistic people of color as possible, and avoid ableist, racist, and classist editing practices, we made some incredibly harmful choices.") The collection as a whole fits so well together and the section breaks make for a semi-structured emotional and thematic arc while still letting contributors' own words take center stage.
2) These are narratives that, quite frankly, are buried in most settings and deserve so much more attention. The political power and revolutionary/reclamatory punch of their presentation here is incredible.
3) There are so many complicated experiences and emotions brought up here. The idea of feeling outside of yourself/shifted in relation to who you're "supposed" to be or how one is "supposed" to understand individuality or self-world separation was really well-explained in so many pieces. The role of "passing" or of not feeling like a full member of one's family or racial group related heavily, as did feeling too scared and/or traumatized to assert identity and seek resources (we live in such an unsafe world). I feel like I absorbed so much from this collection to keep thinking through in working to unravel/dismantle/build new, better systems over in the future.