TITLE: Born Lucky: A Dedicated Father, A Grateful Son and My Journey with Autism (Kindle Edition)
AUTHOR: Vittert, Leland and Yeager, Don
SUBJECT AREA: Autism-Autobiography
PUBLISHER: Harper Horizon (for Print Edition)
PUBLICATION DATE: 2025
NUMBER OF PAGES: 260
From the very first pages of Born Lucky, I knew that this would be no ordinary tale of an individual going through life as an autistic person and from the start we get some strong moral lessons from Leland’s father who instilled in him a solid set of values to live by and this set the stage for a remarkable life.
Leland was named after the town in lovely Northern Michigan where the family had a house, but he had a more common nickname: Lucky. He was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around him which could have resulted in loss of oxygen or even death, but he escaped that, hence the name Lucky. But what propelled him forward despite his autistic traits of social awkwardness, was his father’s belief that one must learn to adapt to what the world is like, rather than have accommodations that he thought would make life too easy and not challenging enough. While I didn’t quite agree with that, I could see that he had a point-the world doesn’t always make allowances for one’s disability, so one needs to adapt.
The book describes his childhood, and I was blown away by what he was able to accomplish at such a young age, he took flying lessons and became a pilot as a child! This was done through sheer determination-nothing was going to stop him! After a period of time, he switched over to rowing and as an adult moved onto even more challenging endeavors. He became interested in working in the TV industry, which led him into a career with Fox News and as a result he became a war correspondent! I was amazed that he was willing to work in the face of danger in the Middle East and he stayed with Fox for several years despite a sometimes-toxic work environment.
Lucky left Fox because of an act of courage-he was ostracized by the network for his willingness to tell the truth about the 2020 election results, which resulted in such a hostile response, that he felt he had to leave. This was because his father said: “Always tell the truth.” His autism was a factor as well with his literal thinking that was a blessing in disguise. Leland’s father’s influence and values are woven throughout the book; they were inseparable and his father was his best friend as my beloved mother was my best friend! His mother played only a minor role, as his younger sister Liberty did. His father was the star and his hero.
This is one of the best autobiographies by autistic adults I have ever read, apart from Temple Grandin and in this difficult and challenging time, we owe it to ourselves to read this feel-good book.