A Frome author has published a memoir exploring the hidden relationship between creativity and neurodivergence, and how music became a shared language between him and his autistic son, James.
The book, ‘Maybe I’m Amazed: A Story of Love and Connection in Ten Songs,’ was written by John Harris and tells the story of how music has been a powerful form of communication between father and son.
“My son James is 18 now, and when he was diagnosed with autism, it started to become clear that he was very musical,” explained John, who has a background as a music journalist and is a columnist for The Guardian.
“James had this very intense, obsessive connection with music – but also, music became a huge source of connection between me and him. It was at the centre of our lives.
“Music was already important to us, but James, being as musical as he is, took that to a whole new level. From a young age, he taught himself how to use my iPod. He obsessively listened to The Beatles, then moved on to Kraftwerk, the German electronic band, and The Clash.
“When he was about 10, we enrolled him in keyboard lessons. He took to it like a duck to water, and then began teaching himself new things. I bought him a bass guitar, and now he’s teaching himself the guitar.”
As he’s grown older, James’s tastes have broadened to include bands like The Strokes, Magazine and Bob Dylan. “All of this is very similar to me,” said John. “I always have music on at home, so I really recognise myself in him through the music.”
The title of the book, ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ derives from the name of Paul McCartney’s first solo single when he left The Beatles.
“The name is true to the story of the book in the sense that when James was diagnosed, it was an overwhelmingly negative experience with fear and worry due to how it was handled,” said John.
“Then there was this amazing musical side of him was a beautiful surprise and was amazing. I am amazed by James’ relationship to music.
“James speaks, but his speech is a bit staccato. My richest source of connection with him is through music – listening to it together, playing it. It’s not like conversation; it is conversation. Without music, our lives would be unimaginable.”
While research shows that music can positively impact autistic people, John said more work is needed in this area. “There’s still a lack of material about it,” he said. “I definitely felt like I was in fresh territory writing this book.
“There seems to be a set of traits in some musicians – obsessiveness, attention to detail, difficulty with socialising – that overlap with autistic traits. It’s often overlooked, but there’s speculation that even Mozart or Beethoven might have been autistic.
“Musical talent which can sometimes seem quite super-natural which runs alongside people who find socialising quite difficult who are very obsessive and detail focused and people who do not have a problem with practicing music for 16 hours a day. I realised all that through being James’ dad.”
‘Maybe I’m Amazed: A Story of Love and Connection in Ten Songs’ is being sold in Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books, and 10p from each sale goes towards Evolve Music, a project which provides inclusive music services across the Southwest.
John Harris will be signing copies and discussing the book at a special event at Dore & Rees during the Frome Festival on 10th July.
He will be joined by music fan and Antiques Roadshow regular Marc Allum, to talk about the book and John’s 35-year career as a music writer, answer audience questions and sign copies.
