Not My Boy by Rodney Peete

Not My Boy by Rodney Peete is about one father's struggle to deal with life and love and family when his son is diagnosed with Autism and while the book deals with Mr. Peete's struggle to change his view of his son and his world the book is really a book that should be read by every father and even every mother.

Rodney Peete was a professional football player. He played for a number of teams over the years and even went to the Super-bowl - I do not remember if his team won or lost and what Rodney learns and we learn with him is that how many games his team won or how many they lost really does not matter what matters is how he parents his children and loves and supports his wife. Rodney is married to the actress Holly Robinson Peete. When the couple found out that Holly was pregnant with twins they were overjoyed. Rodney's father was an amazing man and his role model. Even before AJ was born Rodney had idea's of who his son would be and the relationship they would have and many of these dreams focused on sports and success.

When AJ and his sister were born both babies were perfect. However both children missed a few milestones so Holly decided to have them tested. The tests came back and Holly and Rodney were told that both children were autistic. Rodney did not believe the tests and refused to admit anything was wrong. Holly disagreed with the test results for her daughter but she knew right away that what the doctors and specialists were saying about her son was true and she became a woman and a mother with a mission.

The Peete's were lucky they had the financial and emotional support to start interventions and to start them immediately. Holly became focused on doing all that she could for AJ. Rodney drew into himself and spent more time away from the family smoking cigars, drinking high quality scotch and figuring out a way to "fix" AJ. He was a disaster. It took him awhile to figure this out but when he did and it was just in time as his marriage was headed south and he too was on a path of self destruction he joined Holly in fighting for their son.

Rodney talks about how men react to problems and how many times it is different from women. That a man wants to go in and fix the problem and make everything OK especially when it comes to caring for and providing for their children. Unfortunately sheer willpower which had allowed Rodney to be incredibly successful on the football field was not going to fix AJ and once he realized this the true healing and moving forward began to take place.

This is a book that deserves to be read. You will learn a lot about autism, some of the things that may make some children more susceptible to this illness and you will learn what current treatments and are available. You will also see what it means for a man to have true strength and character.

Today the Peete family spends much of their time on advocating for children and families who are living with autism. They appear to be a couple who walks their talk and demonstrate how something that has the absolute power to destroy families and all dreams can also be harnessed and used to make life fuller and more meaningful.

While the book is about the families experience with Autism it's true story is the strength of family and that when we are all on the same team miracles do occur.