Book Review: Our Wild Card by Sarah Hensley Montz

When Our Wild Card, Sarah Montz’ book about raising a child with autism, first came out, I thought “Maybe I’ll get to it later.”   A few years ago I would have bought it immediately and stayed up all night reading it.  That’s what I did with many autism mother’s stories.  When  Jenny McCarthy, Kim Stagliano, LeeAnn Whiffen and several others came out with their books, I immediately devoured them.  After so much reading,  I felt like I’d reached a saturation point.  I guess I thought that I’ve seen it/heard it/read it all.   When I got around to reading Our Wild Card, I realized that I was wrong.  Montz’ book has its own flavor, its own style and its own events.  It reminded me that I haven’t read it all and we can still all learn from each other.

 I would love to see this book become required reading for all people who work with autistic children and their families.  Administrators, therapists and teachers know how important parents are, but they haven’t lived the autism family life.  Montz’ book could help them get that perspective and put it to use.  The events reviewed in Our Wild Card made it clear  that autism doesn’t occur in a bubble.  When autism enters a family’s life, life still happens.  Financial issues, personal slights, family dynamics, caring for other children and the weighing of time, energy and money against the benefits to the child all get covered in this book. 

If you are an autism mom or a veteran, there’s a lot in Our Wild Card you will enjoy.  One of my favorite parts of the book was at the end when Sarah met up with another autism mom in the waiting room of a therapy center.  The two women seemed to have very little in common to the outside world, but they shared something huge.  They were both autism moms.   The woman in the waiting room was going through a very rough time with her daughter.  With Montz at her side, she let all of her frustrations and fears come out.    Another person likely would have judged this mom for speaking so candidly or even questioned the veracity of what she was saying.  But Montz is an autism mom and knew what the other woman was going through.   The understanding that they shared outweighed any of the differences between them.   It was a strong example of how much we can mean to each other through our sympathy and kindness.

 With each chapter I either got new insights or I thought “I know exactly what she is talking about!”  Sarah Montz clearly ‘gets it’.  It was like autism reality cloaked in comfort!  It doesn’t end with a miracle recovery or any profound meaning to life, but we see how Montz’ son, Travis brings his own gifts and love  to the family.  All mothers can (or should be able to) relate to that!    

Overall, I highly recommend it.  Whether a parent, a professional or a friend, anyone who has been touched by autism should find something honest and heartwarming in Our Wild Card.