Book Review: Journal of Best Practices

I am fascinated by memoirs of people with Asperger Syndrome.  Thus, when I stumbled upon David Finch's book, Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband, I knew I had to read it.  What a hilarious book.  There were times when I had to laugh out loud at the things which never occurred to David to question, it was just the way his Asperger brain was wired.

When David Finch received his diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, he was actually relieved.  Finally there was an explanation for his differences from others.  In his book, he chronicles his adventure trying to write down reminders to himself to improve his marriage. 

Some of these reminders just made me laugh: "Don't change the radio station when she's singing along," "Do not EVER suggest that Kristen doesn't seem to enjoy spending time with our kids," "Don't hog all the crab rangoon," "Apologies do not count when you shout them," "Better to fold and put away [laundry] than to take only what you need from the dryer," and "It is not okay to leave for an hour in the middle of having company."  Others made me tear up: "Fixing our marriage is about working together and managing my behaviors.  Not fixing me."

It was almost comical how, in his Asperger tendency, he began to drive the act of finding best practices into the ground.  He was constantly looking for ways to improve himself, to the point where it almost became too much.  I was also amazed at how patient his wife seems to be.  She sounds like a true saint, helping him through his difficult self-absorption and into the world of thinking of others.  This book was a gem of a memoir!