Since Joel tack­les what hap­pens when the unimag­in­able loss of a child becomes a real­i­ty. Julie Schwartz intro­duces read­ers to her son Joel David Schwartz, who lived with an Autism Spec­trum Dis­or­der and died by acci­den­tal over­dose at age twen­ty-five. Read­ers will find con­nec­tion and com­mu­ni­ty in read­ing Schwartz’s heart­felt mem­oir about the most dif­fi­cult thing for any par­ent to con­front. Her fam­i­ly’s sto­ry will offer a sense of con­nec­tion and com­mu­ni­ty for those deal­ing with loss, and a sense of recog­ni­tion for those whose lives have been touched by the Autism spec­trum. Julie describes Joel as a ​“charm­ing nerd,” and her inti­mate writ­ing invites us to get to know him in all his com­pli­cat­ed detail. The book ulti­mate­ly asks that we cel­e­brate our dif­fer­ences, instead of find­ing fault with them, and that we try to find the joy in all of our relationships.