An extraordinary memoir about the cutting-edge brain therapy that dramatically changed the life and mind of John Elder Robison, the New York Times bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST Imagine spending the first forty years of your life in darkness, blind to the emotions and social signals of other people. Then imagine that someone suddenly switches the lights on. It has long been assumed that people living with autism are born with the diminished ability to read the emotions of others, even as they feel emotion deeply. But what if we’ve been wrong all this time? What if that “missing” emotional insight was there all along, locked away and inaccessible in the mind? In 2007 John Elder Robison wrote the international bestseller Look Me in the Eye, a memoir about growing up with Asperger’s syndrome. Amid the blaze of publicity that followed, he received a unique invitation: Would John like to take part in a study led by one of the world’s foremost neuroscientists, who would use an experimental new brain therapy known as TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, in an effort to understand and then address the issues at the heart of autism? Switched On is the extraordinary story of what happened next. Having spent forty years as a social outcast, misreading others’ emotions or missing them completely, John is suddenly able to sense a powerful range of feelings in other people. However, this newfound insight brings unforeseen problems and serious questions. As the emotional ground shifts beneath his feet, John struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his disability might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts and even some of his closest relationships. Switched On is a real-life Flowers for Algernon, a fascinating and intimate window into what it means to be neurologically different, and what happens when the world as you know it is upended overnight. Praise for Switched On “An eye-opening book with a radical message . . . The transformations [Robison] undergoes throughout the book are astonishing—as foreign and overwhelming as if he woke up one morning with the visual range of a bee or the auditory prowess of a bat.”—The New York Times “Astonishing, brave . . . reads like a medical thriller and keeps you wondering what will happen next . . . [Robison] takes readers for a ride through the thorny thickets of neuroscience and leaves us wanting more.”—The Washington Post “Fascinating for its insights into Asperger’s and research, this engrossing record will make readers reexamine their preconceptions about this syndrome and the future of brain manipulation.”—Booklist “Like books by Andrew Solomon and Oliver Sacks, Switched On offers an opportunity to consider mental processes through a combination of powerful narrative and informative medical context.”—BookPage “A mind-blowing book that will force you to ask deep questions about what is important in life. Would normalizing the brains of those who think differently reduce their motivation for great achievement?”—Temple Grandin, author of The Autistic Brain “At the heart of Switched On are fundamental questions of who we are, of where our identity resides, of difference and disability and free will, which are brought into sharp focus by Robison’s lived experience.”—Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Effect

For the first time in my life, I learned what it was like to truly ''''''''know'''''''' other people's feelings. It was as if I'd been experiencing the world in black and white all my life, and suddenly I could see everything - and particularly other people - in brilliant beautiful colour. People with autism have trouble reading the unspoken signals of others. The conventional wisdom says they don't have the wiring in their brains to do it. But now, thanks to astounding advances in brain-mapping technologies, a revolutionary new brain therapy called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is being pioneered at Harvard Medical School. In Switched On, we follow New York Times bestselling author and 'free-range Aspergian' John Elder Robison as he journeys towards having his emotional intelligence 'unlocked'; by this remarkable new treatment. Led by Harvard professor Dr Pascual-Leone, TMS uses an electromagnetic field to induce signals in the outer layer of the brain, to help autistic people develop the ability to read other people's unspoken emotional cues. Astonishingly, TMS represents a new frontier of scientific possibility for people with autism spectrum disorders, as well as those living with depression, bi-polar disorder, and other conditions. John Robison's story of how he came to awaken the dormant pathways inside his mind is remarkably compelling and entirely unique, but this is also a book about the remarkable advances in the way we view, and treat, a variety of psychological conditions. Switched On is a real-life Flowers for Algernon with a happy ending - a compelling memoir that blends Robison's brilliant storytelling and humour with cutting-edge neuroscience, electronics, and a little bit of rock and roll

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “As sweet and funny and sad and true and heartfelt a memoir as one could find.” —from the foreword by Augusten Burroughs Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits—an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)—had earned him the label “social deviant.” It was not until he was forty that he was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome. That understanding transformed the way he saw himself—and the world. A born storyteller, Robison has written a moving, darkly funny memoir about a life that has taken him from developing exploding guitars for KISS to building a family of his own. It’s a strange, sly, indelible account—sometimes alien yet always deeply human.

Switched On by John Elder Robison | Summary & Analysis Preview: Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening by John Elder Robison, a man with Asperger's syndrome, describes the emotional awakening John underwent after his experience with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a highly experimental procedure that zaps the brain with electricity. Much of his story focuses on a life-changing study he joined in 2008. John details the neuroscience he learned and provides a thorough analysis of the positive and negative effects that TMS has had on his life and, to a lesser degree, the lives of his fellow participants, all of whom had autism. Having written several other memoirs about his family life, John acknowledges that he had a difficult childhood without delving into great detail. He always understood that he was different, but his official diagnosis did not come until he was the age of 40. Switched On, in part, revisits his childhood and young adulthood from the vantage of a middle-aged man... PLEASE NOTE: This is summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Inside this Instaread Summary of: Switched On Summary of the Book Important People Character Analysis Analysis of the Themes and Author's Style About the Author With Instaread, you can get the key takeaways, summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

The slyly funny, sweetly moving memoir of an unconventional dad’s relationship with his equally offbeat son—complete with fast cars, tall tales, homemade explosives, and a whole lot of fun and trouble . Misfit, truant, delinquent. John Robison was never a model child, and he wasn’t a model dad either. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at the age of forty, he approached fatherhood as a series of logic puzzles and practical jokes. When his son, Cubby, asked, “Where did I come from?” John said he’d bought him at the Kid Store and that the salesman had cheated him by promising Cubby would “do all chores.” He read electrical engineering manuals to Cubby at bedtime. He told Cubby that wizards turned children into stone when they misbehaved. Still, John got the basics right. He made sure Cubby never drank diesel fuel at the automobile repair shop he owns. And he gave him a life of adventure: By the time Cubby was ten, he’d steered a Coast Guard cutter, driven a freight locomotive, and run an antique Rolls Royce into a fence. The one thing John couldn’t figure out was what to do when school authorities decided that Cubby was dumb and stubborn—the very same thing he had been told as a child. Did Cubby have Asperger’s too? The answer was unclear. One thing was clear, though: By the time he turned seventeen, Cubby had become a brilliant chemist—smart enough to make military-grade explosives and bring state and federal agents calling. Afterward, with Cubby facing up to sixty years in prison, both father and son were forced to take stock of their lives, finally coming to terms with being “on the spectrum” as both a challenge and a unique gift. By turns tender, suspenseful, and hilarious, this is more than just the story of raising Cubby. It’s the story of a father and son who grow up together.

Switched On by John Elder Robison | Summary & Analysis Preview: Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening by John Elder Robison, a man with Asperger’s syndrome, describes the emotional awakening John underwent after his experience with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a highly experimental procedure that zaps the brain with electricity. Much of his story focuses on a life-changing study he joined in 2008. John details the neuroscience he learned and provides a thorough analysis of the positive and negative effects that TMS has had on his life and, to a lesser degree, the lives of his fellow participants, all of whom had autism. Having written several other memoirs about his family life, John acknowledges that he had a difficult childhood without delving into great detail. He always understood that he was different, but his official diagnosis did not come until he was the age of 40. Switched On, in part, revisits his childhood and young adulthood from the vantage of a middle-aged man… PLEASE NOTE: This is summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Inside this Instaread Summary of: Switched On Summary of the Book Important People Character Analysis Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style About the Author With Instaread, you can get the key takeaways, summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.