The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer’s Program.

The author of this book wrote an inspirational story of a family and how they dealt with young Jacob’s Autism, well, kind of. This story is more than an Autism story, it is a story of how a family pulls together to help themselves and their community, it is a story of a family that stuck with each other during difficult times, it is a story of nurturing. What makes this story so powerful is the nurturing. Seeing each human being as a special person with special gifts, and creating a community help to encourage those gifts, weather it be baking or electromagnetic physics, is truly spectacular.

This story is about two great gifts, one is directly discussed, and one is inferred. Jacob is truly gifted, actually he is profoundly gifted, and his story is nothing less than fascinating. The other gift, possessed by the author, is just as profound. To be able to see that spark in others, and to figure out a way to help them develop it, no matter how much or little of that spark is pronounced, is truly inspiring. I can not help but think how much better the world would be if more people had the ability and motivation to help others develop their spark. ( )

This was a well-written book about one mother's decision to not listen to the experts regarding her autistic son. Kristine was told Jake may never talk and would never learn to read. She decided to focus on what he could do, instead of everything he couldn't do. Now he is one of America's highest mathmaticians. I watched him on 60 minutes and He was amazing.

The story just isn't about autism, but about a family overcoming many struggles. Like an Oprah book I kind of got some perspective on "real problems" and resilience.

Some of the writing is a little disjointed. I was confused by her family history, but it was a minor part of the book. ( )

This book reads like a memoir - lots of matter of fact type stuff, with ok writing, not great. This is not fine literature.

But it does have a lot of heart, and some very good advice for children of all abilities - work with they know, and slowly expand their horizon. I liked how Kristine worked for her son - a very smart, genius level autistic kid. She doesn't just want him to be smart and exceptional, but normal and happy - a very important thing for children.

I do think this book will change how parents look at their autistic children (and children generally) and how educators can reach to children.

I greatly admire this woman. She has more energy than 10 people, and is willing to go through great lengths to help her children (and many other children) reach their potential. ( )

The opening chapter or two of Kristine Barnett's THE SPARK made me shudder a bit with its "all sweetness and light" manner in describing her Amish childhood, an inventive, successful and loving grandfather, and how she met her husband, Michael. But it did not take long for that particular tone to fade into the background when she begins telling the story of her struggles with her firstborn son, Jacob, diagnosed with autism by the age of two. Refusing to accept the sentence of a son who would probably never learn to read or even tie his own shoes, she breaks ranks with the legion of "experts" and begins to focus on what Jake likes to do and can do rather than on all that she's been told he will never do.

And it works. Jake is soon discovered to be a savant genius of the highest order. His interests are far-ranging and diverse and he possesses one of those memories that keeps and stores everything he has ever seen or heard. But he is autistic too and Kristine Barnett never loses sight of that, or the fact that he is also still a little boy, even if he can do post-graduate level physics and is able to discuss same with the brightest scientific minds in America. Barnett builds on her success with Jake to form a special school for autistic children - and this is in addition to the regular day-care she runs for a living.

And oh yeah, she also has a second son with a myriad of physical problems and developmental delays. A third son is normal, but she also learns, in a most frightening fashion, that she herself has a chronic, often debilitating disease. And all this is happening in the midst of the great recession of 2008. She and her husband, who works in retail management, become collateral victims of all the job losses and donwsizing of that era, blasted by the bursting of the economic bubble and nearly losing the new home they had just bought.

Yes, this is a story of very difficult times and a young lower-middle class family trying to cope with what seem insurmountable and marriage-busting problems. But Kristine and Michael hang on - to their marriage, to each other, and to their dreams. I don't mean to say it's a "happily-ever-after" kinda book. Not at all. It's a story still in progress, and the Barnetts are probably still struggling. But Jacob's story is really quite fascinating, about a totally focused autistic genius kid who can switch "with ease between subjects such as general relativity, dark matter, string theory, quantum field theory, biophysics, the spin Hall effect, and gamma-ray bursts."

And don't aske me what the hell any of that stuff is, because I have no idea. But Jake Barnett does it all, and he was only twelve when his mother finished writing the book.

I expected this book to be focused mainly on Jake, the autistic genius. Well, there's plenty about him here, but his mom admits that she herself cannot really understand how Jake's mind works, she just wants him to be safe, functioning and happy - and maybe learn to pick up his socks. She's a regular mom, in other words. Well, maybe not, when you consider how she has founded her own center to help autistic kids reach their fullest potential, and seems to be having at least as much success as the special ed "experts." And one more thing: Kristine Barnett is a damn fine writer. This book is testament to that.

If you enjoy this book and want a couple other books about coping with autistic kids, here are a couple I will recommend. Joe Blair's fine memoir, BY THE IOWA SEA; and Glen Finland's NEXT STOP. The books are very different in nature, but both are fine and absorbing reads. Another I'd recommend is John Elder Robison's memoir of Asperger Syndrome, LOOK ME IN THE EYE.

But this particular book? Like I said, Kristine Barnett is a very talented writer and THE SPARK takes you into the center of a highly unusual family and shows you how she holds it all together and how two loving parents can perhaps indeed do miracles. I recommend the book highly. ( )

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher through an early reader program, but the opinions expressed are my own. As the mother of a child on the autistic spectrum, I very much enjoyed the early parts of the book as the family dealt with the diagnosis and the "remedies" recommended for their autistic son. It's a trying time for any family and their efforts to advocate for their son struck a chord, as did Barnett's instincts for reaching a child through his/her interests rather than relying on repetitive therapies to remedy the weaknesses. That's the approach I took with my own child and we had remarkable success. The last half was less engaging for me. Barnett's son is an off-the-chart genius and the family's travails as he went to college at age ten, didn't resonate as much with me. I realize the title is "Nurturing Genius" not "Dealing with Autism" but the autism pieces appealed to me personally more than the rest of the narrative. However it's an uplifting story and an enjoyable and quick read. ( )