The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son
by Rupert Isaacson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rupert IsaacsonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-04-14
ISBN: 0316008230
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Book Reviews of The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son
Book Review: Part Travel Narrative and Part the Memoir of an Autism Parent
Summary: 5 Stars
4.5 stars (round to 5)
This nonfiction book is part travel narrative and part memoir, which makes it wholly interesting and original. I always enjoy travel writing, especially when it involves an adventurous trip off the beaten path, as this does (to the remote reindeer herders of Siberia.)
There were a couple of special things about this book that I really related to, so I'm probably not completely objective about it.
First, two days before the announcement was made that this would be my book club's selection, I received the results from some genealogical DNA tests I had ordered. They revealed a huge surprise. We knew that my grandmother was almost 100% German, and we knew her family tree for quite a few generations back. But her mitochondrial DNA was of a very rare type, one that is found only in the reindeer-herding tribespeople of Siberia! MtDNA is very ancient, and clearly one of my grandmother's German ancestors had a Siberian ancestral mother. So I was really excited to read about these people who share my DNA.
Secondly, the author's autistic son is named Rowan, which was my first choice for my youngest son's name - for the same reasons that the author and his wife chose it. Unfortunately, my husband nixed that name, but nevertheless I felt an instant connection with Rowan the Horse Boy.
In the book, Isaacson and his wife take Rowan to Siberia in the hope of healing for his autism, having exhausted every other resource to no avail. Isaacson was involved in a legal case in which some Bushmen of Africa were fighting for the rights to their homeland. He became interested in their shamaans' healing methods, after having witnessed impressive results. When he tried having a Bushman shamaan do a healing ceremony on Rowan, the results were startling but did not last.
Another thing Isaacson noticed was the special bond Rowan had with animals, especially their neighbor's horse. Riding and interacting with the horse also brought great strides in Rowan's development.
So Isaacson decided to combine the two, and take Rowan to Siberian Mongolia, where the world's best horsemen practice an unbroken shamaanic tradition that goes back thousands of years. The logistics of planning a trip to such a remote place are intimidating, but when the challenges of traveling with a child as severely autistic as Rowan is added to the mix, it verged on the impossible. But Isaacson was determined to help his son, and nothing else had worked.
The vivid depiction of Mongolia and its people is fascinating. But the love that Rupert , his wife Kristin, and Rowan have for each other make this book beautiful as well. It might be a little New-Agey for some readers, but note that Rupert had a healthy dose of skepticism about the whole thing himself. And Kristin had much more - she was adamantly against the idea at first. Both of them deserve kudos for keeping an open mind and being willing to do anything to help their son.
The book has a section of color photographs, but I strongly recommend watching the DVD as well (either before or after reading the book, I don't think it would matter.) One great thing about watching the DVD is getting to see Dr. Temple Grandin, the wildlife biologist and adult autist who befriended the Isaacsons and is often referred to and quoted in the book. But perhaps the most powerful impact of the DVD is seeing what Rowan's tantrums are like. Isaacson repeatedly describes these tantrums - uncontrollable neurological firestorms - using worlds such as "ear-piercing", "head-splitting" and "crazy-making". But it's beyond anything words can tell. You have to see for yourself what these parents were up against. And their calm patience with Rowan is just incredible: hard-won as it was through understanding and years of experience. As Rupert himself says in the book, of course they were always conscious that they were being filmed and thus were on their best behavior, but even so, their patience is exceptional.
And there is no doubting the sincerity of these parents' love and the depths of their patience. Yet Isaacson is unusually candid about the times that patience failed, and the stress that Rowan's autism placed on their marriage. His account is open and honest. The reader feels that he or she has really come to know and care about this family, and wants them to succeed and be happy.
It's kind of an aside from the main theme of the book, but Isaacson's description of his wife's (Dr. Kristin Neff's) research really resonated with me: "Over the last few years, Kristin's Buddhist practice had been merging more and more with her academic psychology work. Specifically, she had been conducting research into the Buddhist concept of self-compassion, the idea being to cultivate kindness and forgiveness toward yourself as well as others: no easy task, especially in times of suffering or failure. However, the studies she'd been publishing seemed to show that self-compassion was better for mental health than the conventional psychological wisdom, which equates high self-esteem with positive mental health. Kristin had found that the constant pursuit of high self-esteem becomes, over time, an obsession with feeling superior and special, an emotional roller-coaster that you can never get off. By contrast, self-compassion allows you to look clearly at yourself, forgive yourself, and then make the necessary changes to achieve mental equilibrium." This made so much sense to me that I looked up her website and plan to read some of the books she recommends. [...]
I hope that Rupert Isaacson will write a sequel. I want to know what eventually becomes of Rowan, and his parents.
(356 pages)
Summary of The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son
When his son Rowan was diagnosed with autism, Rupert Isaacson was devastated, afraid he might never be able to communicate with his child. But when Isaacson, a lifelong horseman, rode their neighbor's horse with Rowan, Rowan improved immeasurably. He was struck with a crazy idea: why not take Rowan toTHE HORSE BOY is the dramatic and heartwarming story of that impossible adventure. In
Amazon Exclusive: Temple Grandin Reviews The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son
Drawing from her own experience with autism and her distinguished career as an animal scientist, Temple Grandin has provided readers with extraordinary insight into how animals think, act, and feel. Her books include The Way I See It, and the national bestsellers, Thinking in Pictures, Animals in Translation, and Animals Make Us Human. We were eager to hear what Grandin thought about Rupert Isaacson and his family's quest to go to the ends of the earth to help their son. Read her exclusive Amazon guest review to find out.
This is a fascinating book. It is the tale of a family's journey to Mongolia with their five-year-old son who has autism. The family travels to the northern remote areas and lives with the nomads and herders away from the cities. I loved the descriptions of the nomad way of life, and that they were so accepting of a child with autism. Rowan loved baby animals and the people did not mind when he grabbed a baby goat and climbed into one of their beds with it. During the trip, Rowan developed improved language and behavior. He also had a magical connection with horses. There are many wonderful passages about Rowan?s exploits with a Mongolian horse named Blackie.
Rupert Isaacson was surprised at how accommodating the Mongolian people were. They tolerated Rowan's pushing, yelping, and joyful rushing about. At the end of the book the family get a rude awakening when a German tourist who was a psychologist disapproved of bringing a child with autism to a national park to view wild horses. I was interviewed by Rupert Isaacson before he wrote his book and we discussed perhaps the shamans and the healers in some traditional cultures had autistic traits. Their rituals with rhythmic chanting and repetitive movements have similarities to autistic "stims." When I was little, I went into a calm trance-like state when I rocked and dribbled sand through my hands.
Children with autism need to be exposed to lots of interesting things and new experiences in order to develop. One of the reasons the trip to Mongolia was so beneficial was that Rowan could explore lots of fascinating things such as horses, streams, plants, and animals in an environment that was QUIET. The Mongolian pastureland was a quiet environment free of the things that overload the sensory system of a child with autism. There were no florescent lights or constant noise and echoes. Some individuals with autism see the flicker of florescent lights which is like being in a disco with strobe lights. When I was a child, loud sounds hurt my ears.
Parents and teachers can duplicate the benefits of this trip without having to travel. Horseback riding is a great activity. Many parents have told me that their child spoke his/her first words on a horse. Activities that combine both rhythm and balancing such as horseback riding, sitting on a ball, or swinging help stabilize a disordered sensory system. There are lots of places you can take a child to explore nature such as parks, brooks or a field with tall grass. Children with autism need to be shown interesting things and encouraged to do new things. Everywhere Rowan went he was asked questions and encouraged to talk about the things he was looking at. You need to find QUIET, interesting places away from crowds of people, florescent lights, traffic, and noise, where you can engage the child and keep him tuned in. This is a great book and everyone who is interested in autism, animals or different cultures should read it. --Temple Grandin
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