Tilt: Every Family Spins on Its Own Axis

Rating:
Summary: Spinning and spinning...
Review: Elizabeth Burns, first time author of "Tilt: Every Family Spins On Its Own Axis" is described as a poet in her biographical short for the novel. Once you've read "Tilt", you'll understand, for the quality of her prose is so lovely and her words so well-chosen and evocative, they could only come from the soul of a poet.

Once I became a parent, I began to advocate to other young parents that they stay within the reach of their nuclear families, because I'd not realized, at first, how much it "takes a village". Part of the saga of Bridget Fox, the young mother at the heart of "Tilt", is her removal, by marriage and relocation, from family and things known and comforting. She's alone with her family in Minneapolis when things begin to unravel. Her journey through the devastation of her husband's manic depression and the slow-motion truth of daughter Maeve's autism will leave you emotionally bereft, in the same pattern that it leaves Bridget. Insights into her childhood, her friendships, her first marriage - all of them give credence to your belief in Bridget as a survivor, a woman too strong to give up.

...."Why would someone be grateful that a child with disabilities died early? Listen. We're wrestling with a deity who's pulled aside the curtain and peered right into our souls. There are no secrets left. We're just here, breathing or gasping...."

Written in the first person, you get the feeling that Burns' own world has spun in similar directions from time to time. You can feel her fear through your own skin. Elizabeth Burns has a skill that far exceeds the boundaries of fiction alone, and you get the feeling that she will be around to share her gift with us for a long, long time.

Given 5 stars, because 6 were not available. Without a doubt, the best book I've read this year!

Rating:
Summary: Good but too dramatic
Review: I think Ms. Burns wrote a great first novel. She is a very petic writer, has a great technique, and the novel was very carrying. However, as a parent of an autistic child, I honestly was looking forward to something that would be somewhat of a simpatico with me and this was not. I felt that the perspective of the autistic child was a cliche that is what others perceive an autistic child is. I don't feel like the author truly researched the field. More was written about the other psychiatric illnesses than what a true autistic relationship would have been. The stereotypees were just too general and contrived. I couldn't get past my upset after a certain point that this just wasn't real life.

Maybe I am being too harsh but again, as a parent living and breathing with an autistic daughter, I didn't feel like it was real. I finished the book but in anger. Besides, in present day culture, a state will not let a person commit their child long term unless a parent signs over parental control, thereby giving up all capabilities to be a part of a child's treatment team. It is basically unheard of so I felt like the story jumped the shark, so to speak.

Rating:
Summary: An unforgettable journey
Review: The words and imagery are so powerful that the reader is forced to just grab on and not let go. Bridget Fox is forced to endure almost more than is humanly possible, yet she is not a victim; she is the very symbol of strength and an advocate to her autistic daughter and bipolar husband. I don't want to reveal much more than that because the pleasure of reading this book is almost immesurable. Elizabeth Burns may be a poet in her soul, but I am anxiously awaiting her next novel.

Rating:
Summary: Courage
Review: This beautifully written narrative is an absolute must read for anyone who wants to better understand both family life with a child with a disability, and the devastation of mental illness. As the mother of a special needs child, I can attest to the fact that Elizabeth Burns completely captures the roller coaster ride of despair, denial and hope we go through with our "less than typical" children. It often seems there is not enough of the right kind of help for our children and our families, and it is easy to feel the despair that leads the heroine to the depths of depression. The author shows great courage in disclosing what I suspect is some personal experience with the issues in the book.

Rating:
Summary: A Story Well - Spun
Review: We have all come into contact with autistic children and their beleaguered parents. We have all empathized with them. This book, however, REALLY delves into the nitty-gritty behavior of the autistic child and the candid emotions of the caretaker. The additional stress of the bipolar husband sinks the reader into the same depth of depression as the overwhelmed heroine. Pair Tilt with Mark Haddon's excellent book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and you will have a better sense of what autism is like.