Cith this encouraging and generous new book, Franco and Andrea Antonello tell us their story. We first encountered them in "If You Hug Me, Don't Be Afraid," their account of a motorcycle journey across the Americas.
Now, as they recount the birth, growth, and development of their autistic son Andrea, we begin to grasp the weight of what Franco has carried: the struggle, the doubt, the exhaustion of a father who has surrendered pieces of his life—his love, his work, everything—to help his son, to understand him, to heal him. The undertaking is immense. And yet Franco throws himself into it wholly, with a commitment and simplicity that leaves us astounded.
Every opportunity, every insight, every discovery becomes a tool. Franco channels this energy into founding a well-structured foundation, demanding and precise in its mission. He insists that every school create a simple, lean support structure pairing each disabled student with a non-disabled classmate who commits to being that friend for life. He intervenes, collaborates, pushes forward through the thorny dealings with authorities and bureaucracy.
But the heart of what Franco and Andrea offer—and it applies not only to autistic young people but to all our friends living with disability—is this: do everything possible so that our children live ordinary lives, free from the stigma of "handicap." Read this book. Stand with them. Share in their many disasters and their quiet, genuine acts of kindness. In 2008, Andrea says it best:
"Andrea disrupts our plans and heals us of our selfishness."