Book Blurb:
Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles’s disabled community is, for many of its clients and staff, a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister Mariana; Jorge, the gentle nonspeaking giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend (and prevent from escaping); Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy, who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center’s pool who feels out of her depth; then there’s Dave, Upward Bound’s director who came to L.A. to pursue an acting career but now channels his passion into staging an overly ambitious holiday show starring the center’s irrepressible clients. Framing these intertwined narratives—and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways—is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers.
My Review: 4 stars
Upward Bound by Woody Brown was an incredibly told story from the POV of the author himself as he spends his days at an adult daycare for the disabled. Woody is perceptive and can completely understand the English language, yet he, himself is nonverbal.
This story is fiction, but it’s told from his experiences at the places he’s been to for camp/daycare. I learned a lot about this community and more importantly about the kind, nurturing and understand aides and volunteers that work at these centers. It takes a special type of person to do this. The days can be grueling, yet they keep going to keep their patients safe. I loved his introspection and how he shared his life.
Interestingly, after I read about the author and went down a rabbit hole of information, I learned how disapproving many parents and caretakers are of nonverbal facilitated communication (FC). There were some reviewers who gave the book one star based solely on the FC practice. I’m definitely not learned on this topic to speak to what’s right or wrong, however, I glad to learned about the options.
Quotes I liked:
Autism on my end of the spectrum is like ADHD times a thousand.”
“Jorge and I are both inmates at an insane asylum that passes itself off as a day program for autistic adults.”
