I began writing this book because @timkmak put me up to writing about autism. I moved to DC to cover economics and politics. I would have been perfectly happy doing so for the rest of my life. I still love covering them and I still cover politics for @Independent
But when I went to a party at @swin24 and @timkmak’s, Tim offered me a drink and I said a medicine I take doesn’t mix with it because I am autistic. (I later tried drinking but have been sober for 2 years) Instead of judging, he said I should write about autistic people in DC.
I thought “meh, I’ll write about it when I get more experienced.” Tim suggested plenty of autistic people thrive in DC. Then when @nationaljournal shut down, I pitched the piece to my editor. Initially it was going to be a chatty piece about autistic life in DC.
Then, my editor Richard Just asked why it should exist and I said, we focus too much on curing autistic people and not enough on helping them live fulfilling lives. He told me there was my story and it culminated in this piece
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
When editing the piece, Richard suggested I turn it into a book. So when @ron_fournier introduced me to @HJ_Lit, I jumped. The proposal took a year and a half to write because I was working full-time @rollcall. But eventually, we got it done and sold to HMH (now @marinerbooks)
This book spanned three jobs, two presidential elections. In between my time @rollcall, @thehill and @washingtonpost, I’d use vacation days or weekends to travel to Michigan, West Virginia, Nashville, Pittsburgh or the Bay Area to interview people
It took over my life. It was simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. But I met so many incredible people and the more I did it, the more I felt obligated to tell the story of autistic people.
I was never someone who thought I could write a book. But now it is done and We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation is in stores now
hmhbooks.com/shop/books/wer…
Indiebound
indiebound.org/book/978132858…
Amazon
amazon.com/Were-Not-Broke…
All this to say, you CAN write a book. It is grueling work. It will take a lot out of you. I left my job @washingtonpost and finished it afterward. But it is worth it. Don’t keep that idea to yourself. So now, I am once again asking for you to buy my book. indiebound.org/book/978132858…

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More from @EricMGarcia

14 Jun
What the actual hell? For someone who prides himself on being in tune with constituents, this is unacceptable from Chuck Schumer.
Of course, aside from Schumer using the “R Word,” building a congregate home for intellectually disabled children isn’t necessarily the best thing. Like, NIMBYs are bad but congregate settings are also harmful. Schumer gets an F on style and substance.
Folks, you know what I am about to say: Buy the Book. hmhbooks.com/shop/books/wer…
Read 4 tweets
8 Apr
Congratulations to @slooterman for being shortlisted for Deadline Club's Mosaic Award for her fantastic reporting on disability politics. Sara has been integral to making sure people don't see disability as personal or charity but inherently political.
deadlineclub.org/2021-awards-fi…
Dirty secret: I have been a fan of @thenation for years but never slapped down money until Sara started writing for them. Her coverage of Elizabeth Warren's disability policy as a game-changer was fantastic.
thenation.com/article/archiv…
A lot of people have said we don't need to worry about children getting harmed and said that's why we should reopen. @slooterman said that mindset could kill disabled children.
thenation.com/article/societ…
Read 8 tweets
8 Apr
Remember when people thought it was charming when Andrew Cuomo talked about his daughter's boyfriend?
Honestly, it is a pretty good testament to Joe Biden's staying power that Mike Bloomberg jumped into the race because he was worried Biden would collapse, then Warren piledrove him. Then some people wanted Cuomo to replace Biden on the ticket because Cuomo was good on TV.
Biden benefits underestimation. Bloomberg jumped in to stave off Warren, and then she massacred him. Pete torpedoed Warren on Medicare for All. Amy proceeded to ether Pete. All this was predicated on the assumption Biden would implode. He never did.
Read 4 tweets
7 Apr
All the talk about whether Home-and-community-based services can be considered infrastructure obfuscates the real question I have been thinking: If this passes, would it be fair to say Biden would be the most consequential president on disability rights in the 21st Century?
-George W. Bush followed in his father's footsteps by signing the 2008 ADA Amendments Act
-Obama signing the ACA protected countless disabled people from discrimination in insurance and he negotiated the CRPD (which failed in Congress)
-Obama also nominated Sonia Sotomayor, who has supported disability rights from the bench and put out the community settings rule.
Read 5 tweets
15 Jan
This is a big deal and really a victory for disability rights activists. Biden had NO disability policy during the primary so for him to prioritize this in a normal minimum wage increase is Yuge. #cripthevote
The best article I have ever read about subminimum wage labor for disabled people was this @slooterman joint from last year. Even before Biden released his disability plan, he and Sanders come out in support of ending subminimum wage labor.
vox.com/identities/202…
One extra thought here: Biden including ending subminimum wage labor is important because it says that disabled workers are workers and disabled workers' rights are workers' rights as a whole.
Read 5 tweets
13 Jun 20
Yup. And John McCain’s campaign too. The unfortunate thing about Wakefield’s study is we were JUST getting to understand how common autism was because of broadening diagnosis criteria, the ADA and IDEA. Then Wakefield set all of this on fire
Bear with me, this is a big part of the first chapter of my book. The 1980s and 1990s saw two important trends in autism. The first was the diagnostic criteria was broadened in the DSM. In 1980, “infantile autism” got a definition separate from Schizophrenia.
In 1987, that changed to be called “Autistic Disorder.” In 1994, Asperger’s Syndrome and PDD-NOS were included in the DSM. This meant that more people could get a diagnosis than in the past because there was a recognition that autism manifested in many ways.
Read 14 tweets

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