Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir

“Extraordinary… Greenfeld details what it is like to grow up next to a ‘beautiful’ boy with whom he can never play and never connect and who never returns his love, but who, nonetheless, is the most important fact of his life.”
— Michael Thompson, Ph.D., co-author of Raising Cain

“Beautiful and powerful …. A masterpiece of literature and memory.”
— Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe

“Gripping.”
— Washington Post

A WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In this literary tour de force, Karl Taro Greenfield, the acclaimed journalist and author of China Syndrome, tells the story of his life growing up with his brother, chronicling the hopes, dreams, and realities of life with an autistic sibling. Fans of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking and David Sheff’s Beautiful Boy will find many poignant, moving moments in Boy Alone.

Karl Taro Greenfeld knew from an early age that his little brother, Noah, was not like other children. He couldn't crawl, and he had trouble making eye contact or interacting with his family. As Noah grew older, his differences became even more pronounced—he was unable to communicate verbally, use the toilet, or tie his shoes, and despite his angelic demeanor, he often had violent outbursts.

No doctor, social worker, or specialist could pinpoint what was wrong with Noah beyond a general diagnosis: autism. The boys' parents, Josh and Foumi, dedicated their lives to caring for their younger son with myriad approaches—a challenging, often painful experience that the devoted father detailed in a bestselling trilogy of books.

Now, for the first time, acclaimed journalist Karl Taro Greenfeld speaks out about growing up in the shadow of his autistic brother, revealing the complex mix of rage, confusion, and love that defined his childhood. Boy Alone is his brutally honest memoir of the hopes, dreams, and realities of life with a mentally disabled sibling.

Seamlessly weaving together the social history of autism and autism research—as the Greenfelds lived through it in seeking treatment for Noah—with the deeply affecting story of two very different boys growing up side by side, this book raises crucial philosophical questions: Can relationships exist without language? How should aging parents care for a nonverbal, violent child, and then a grown man who is not self-sufficient? Is there anything that can be done to help an extremely autistic child or adult become a member of mainstream society?

Haunting, tragic, and unforgettable, this chronicle of autism is a beautiful, wholly original exploration of what it means to be a family, a brother, and a person.

“A vivid, compelling, painfully honest sibling story. My heart went out to Karl. I couldn’t put this book down.” - Rachel Simon, author of Riding The Bus With My Sister

“Deep, dark, and devastating, Boy Alone is remarkable in its ruthless honesty, exceptional writing, and eye-opening subject matter. A fascinating and powerful read.” - Janice Erlbaum, author of Have You Found Her

“This is a truly beautiful and powerful book. Karl Greenfeld has written his own angle on the story of his autistic brother Noah, made famous in the works of their father Josh Greenfeld. Karl turns his sibling saga into a lyrical exploration of love, mystery, family, and what makes us human. He also dances around hope and reality, fact and fiction, in a way that will startle you. The result is a masterpiece of literature and memory that will leave you breathless.” - Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

“Gripping.” - Suki Casanave, Washington Post

“Recent autism memoirs range from accounts of strenuous ‘healing’ to reflection on accepting the condition. Such a reaction isn’t found in Greenfeld’s book. . . . Karl resolves the conflict he sets up . . . with a surprise twist that may remind some readers of ‘The Sixth Sense.’” - Polly Morrice, New York Times Book Review

“Boy Alone unlocks the heart and lets the emotions pour out: grief, despair, anger, love, devotion and wonder. Whether you are a parent or a sibling of someone with autism or just looking in from the outside through this rarely opened window into the complex life of a family coping with autism, you will never forget this book.” - Portia Iversen, Co-Founder of Cure Autism Now and author of Strange Son

“A candid, brave, painful and very well-written memoir about a truly tragic family situation.” - Peter Matthiessen, author of The Shadow Country

“In his extraordinary memoir, Karl Greenfeld details what it is like to grow up next to a ‘beautiful’ boy with whom he can never play and never connect and who never returns his love, but who, nonetheless, is the most important fact of his life. Greenfeld’s story goes beyond autism, however; it is also a brilliant depiction of male adolescence and a meditation on what family means and what we owe one another in this life.” - Michael Thompson, Ph.D., co-author of Raising Cain

“Karl Taro Greenfeld grows from child to boy to man, variously resisting and succumbing to the force of his brother’s autism. The reader has no choice but to take the same emotional, heartwarming, tragic, comic, frustrating, loving, painful, uplifting journey.” - Paul A. Offit, author of Autism's False Prophets

“Sibling rivalry—and love—of a ravaging kind is the subject of this unsparing memoir of the author’s life with his severely autistic brother. [An] affecting chronicle of a family simultaneously shattered and bound tight by autism.” - Publishers Weekly