Life, Animated: A Tale of Autism, Hidden Potential, and Love (Sponsored by Lee and Chesley Garrett)

Ron Suskind's sixth bestselling book, Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism, took readers on a twenty-year journey with his family and their son's autism. Part memoir, part investigation, part adventure story of the human heart, the book was excerpted in the New York Times, introducing Owen Suskind, who lost all speech at 3, memorized 50 Disney movies, and created an emotional language drawn from lyrics and dialogue -- a language in which the family became fluent. Over years of communicating through Disney, Owen regained speech,  and developed into a truly unique young man, along the way, the Suskind's developed a therapeutic model, called Affinity Therapy, which turns the deep, narrow interests -- characteristic of autism -- into pathways for growth and social connection. All of this went global, when their 2016 feature documentary, Life, Animated, was nominated for an Academy Award, swept the Emmys, and spread across the world. Ron tells the story of his family's extraordinary journey -- still unfolding -- with movie clips and personal recollections that change an audience's views of sidekicks, heroes, the "differently abled" and what defines "a meaningful life."