Maybe I’m Amazed

Author John Harris
Narrator John Harris
Publisher John Murray Press
Run Time 6 hours and 57 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, Biography and non-fiction prose, Memoirs, Music, The Arts.

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What to expect

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

'BRILLIANT' ADRIAN CHILES
'THIS BOOK CONTAINS MAGIC' CAITLIN MORAN
'ENTRANCING, HEARTBREAKING, UPLIFTING' MARINA HYDE

In this extraordinary memoir, a father tells the story of how music has opened up the world to his son, one song at a time.

Obsessed with music since he was a child, John Harris had no idea that he was in fact preparing himself for the greatest challenge of his life. But so it transpired. When his son James was born, and three years later diagnosed with autism, music became a source of precious connection and endless wonder for both of them.

Maybe I'm Amazed describes how the music of The Beatles, Kraftwerk, Funkadelic, The Velvet Underground, Amy Winehouse and many more were soon woven into the fabric of James's life, becoming an essential part of who he is. It takes us through the struggles of raising an autistic child in a prejudiced world, and uncovers a hidden history of neurodivergence and creativity that casts new light on why notes, chords and lyrics speak so powerfully to the human mind.

Anyone who has fallen in love with a band or heard their life reflected back to them by a song will recognise themselves in the story of this father and his son. And in considering the intense and transcendent way James absorbs and connects with music, it has lessons in listening and living for us all.

Critics Review

Every page breaks your heart then repairs it with love, compassion and the magical power of music. A stunning reminder that the alchemy of music and words can overcome, heal and connect like no other art form.

Nicky Wire, Manic Street Preachers

This book taught me so much and delighted and moved me even more. Entrancing, heartbreaking, uplifting – a complete inspiration and education.

Marina Hyde

All of us who love music know it has a power beyond just the sound it makes. In this moving account of life with a neurodivergent child, we get to witness that power first hand.

Billy Bragg

A real page-turner, John Harris’s wonderful book is literally awe-inspiring . . . it provides a touching and personal window into the relationship between a father and his autistic son and is an immensely valuable contribution to our understanding of the special connection between autistic people and music.

Simon Baron-Cohen

A fascinating journey into another way of knowing music and a testament to unconditional love. Brilliant.

Johnny Marr

One of the most honest, joyful stories I’ve ever read. This book contains magic.

Caitlin Moran

As a tribute to the power of music to forge lines of communication between people separated by divergent ways of thinking (by extension, cultural and geographical boundaries as much as neurological ones), Maybe I’m Amazed is as uplifting as it is in other respects troubling. The obstacles facing the autistic and their carers are considerable enough without knee-jerk “othering”. If we can all get down to Funkadelic’s Fish, Chips And Sweat, maybe our brains don’t work so differently after all.

Danny Eccleston, Editor, MOJO

As touching as it is informative, bringing together autism champions like Loma Wing and Simon Baron-Cohen with Macca and Mott the Hoople. It feels like an essential read for any music lovers with neurodiversity in the family, and for those who are neurotypical, too.

Record Collector

Touching and candid . . . This moving portrait of normal people dealing with an unfathomable situation captures the uncertainty, guilt and flashes of joy that having an autistic child brings [and] the freedoms and revelations that come through music.

The Times

Harris writes about music with wit, clarity and a welcome lack of pretension . . . through his and James’s shared love of music, his initial doomy grief gives way to a constellation of admiration, fear, humour, awe and, of course, love. I wept several times, and the book wouldn’t have that power without the author’s willingness to be real and vulnerable. As he observes, autistic traits appear throughout humankind. You might say we’re like everyone else – only more so.

Guardian

Tender . . . full of wit and wisdom. His early chapters read like a cathartic outpouring about the hurdles and obstacles his family has had to face, but his forays into neuroscience get deeper by the page, which is where this book’s real power lies. Brave [and] arresting. his book also underlines for us how music, in so many magical ways, can powerfully bring very different people together.

Observer

A brilliant book.

Adrian Chiles

‘One of the most honest, joyful stories I’ve ever read. This book contains magic.

Caitlin Moran

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