Best Boy

Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb

Meet Todd Aaron. An autistic, contented man in his fifties who loves to read The Encyclopedia Britannica (Mr. B) and research interesting facts on the computer (Mr. C).  At the Payton LivingCenter, he's one of the veteran residents. Todd has called this place home since he was eleven-years-old. He's been happy with the quiet seclusion Payton offers, but now he feels a restlessness deep inside his soul. After all these years, he wants to go home.

Home, however, only exists in his memories. And some of those memories are painful. Like the beatings and humiliation he endured as a child at the hands of a father who could not accept a son that was "different". Or a brother who enjoyed tormenting him in front of friends for a cheap laugh. But then he thinks of Momma and Todd's heart swells with love. His mother was special, a crusader for her precious son diagnosed with this mystery affliction called autism. Now that both of his parents are gone, Todd desperately hopes his brother, Nate, will finally agree to reunite with him. But Nate carries a resentment and a secret that make Todd's dream unlikely to come true.

As the story progresses, Todd's world begins to trigger anxiety. There's the taunting brain-injured roommate who loves to watch the "volts" in Todd's brain explode.  A new man on staff with wicked intentions pretends to be a friend; how it reminds him of his vile father. A pretty girl with one eye teases Todd with romantic overtures, convincing him to stop taking his medication in order to feel normal once again. If only he could go home to that place of tranquility and peace. So he plans his escape.

Eli Gottlieb has written an emotional, insightful story examining the fascinating mind of a high-functioning autistic man. Written in the first-person narrative, the reader soon becomes empathetic towards Todd and his struggle to survive in a world he often doesn't understand. By the end, I think you'll agree that this courageous man deserves admiration rather than pity.

As Momma said, "You were a best boy who became a beautiful man and made everybody who knew you very proud".