Love That Boy

"Love That Boy is a multi-layered story about one father's journey to acceptance. Ron Fournier's son has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that makes Tyler socially awkward. With a stiff nudge from his wife, Ron traveled the country with Tyler to various presidential sites and visited with former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, in a series of "guilt" trips that help him appreciate Tyler for who he is, rather than what he wanted him to be. On a broader level, it's a story about every parent's stratospheric expectations for their children--where and why the dreams are made, how these aspirations distort childhood, and what ways they can be properly channeled. When a parent's expectations come from the wrong place and are pressed into service of the wrong goals, kids get hurt. While a parent's love is unconditional, a parent's pride comes with caveats. Ron discovered both late in his job as a father, which he shares in this compelling and honest look at the universal pitfalls of modern parenting."