Book Review: Following Ezra, By: Tom Fields-Meyer

By: Chelsea Emery, EC-SEAT scholar 

Following Ezra is an eye-opening book written from a father’s perspective. Tom Fields-Meyer is Abba, the father. He describes his view of the world while raising his son Ezra who has autism. His story explains how Ezra sees life from a different level, and how he does his best to understand and know the unique and extraordinary things about his son.

The author writes about events from the past ten years of their lives. He wrote this book with the intention to understand his son and hope to relate to other families who have children with Autism. He breaks down each aspect of Ezra’s autism and really explains what makes him so wonderful and unique. Ezra grew up in a Jewish family with a Rabbi for a mother and two siblings. The authors describes challenges faced by his family that in the end made their relationship stronger with Ezra.

The stories about Ezra include the road to his Bat Mitzvah, his tantrums, his exploration of learning, reading, and understanding, his fixations, his honesty, his social interactions, and his quest to find what ‘normal’ means. Although Ezra has a large family, the majority of the book is the father-son relationship. Their relationship grows beyond the pages. The emotions jump off of the book and really touch the reader’s heart. The bond of this father and son is unbreakable, beautiful, and full of love even if Ezra can’t express it.

This is a great book for any educator, parent, family member, or professional who works with people or children with autism. It is a great way to understand the many unique characteristics of someone on the spectrum.

I believe the way this book, Following Ezra, is written is a great educational resource on working, living, or having children with autism or special needs. This father’s perspective on his son really allows readers to comprehend how to work, understand, and appreciate all aspects of autism and special needs. It especially gives you an understanding on how to:

• approach the topic with others,
• approach the child to understand their differences, and
• most importantly the unique qualities that make every child with autism extraordinary.

I have personally learned much more about autism from this book and feel like I can be a better educator to my students after reading this perspective. I would recommend this heartfelt book to anyone who works or around people with autism or special needs.

Citation: 

Fields-Meyer, T. (2011). Following Ezra: What one father learned about Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love from his Extraordinary Son. New York, NY: New American Library.

Hello! My name is Chelsea Emery and I am in my second year as an EC-SEAT scholar. I am from and have grown up in New Hampton, New Hampshire. I attended Stonehill College in Easton Massachusetts for my undergraduate experience and graduated with a speech language and disorders bachelor's degree. I became interested in special education after I worked as a speech assistant. I quickly found my desire was to work with children with severe special needs in a clinical setting. I am currently working towards my autism certificate, assistive technology certificate, and have my SLPA license in two states as well. Besides school I enjoy field hockey, boating, fishing, and time with my family.