The Journal of Best Practices
Read The Journal of Best Practices Online
Authors: David Finch
Advance Praise for
The Journal of Best Practices
“David Finch has Asperger syndrome—a disorder that, in some ways,
means ‘acting like a guy.’ His often hilarious efforts to understand and cope
with his condition will resonate with every guy whose wife has
ever asked him, ‘What the hell were you THINKING?’”—D
AVE
B
ARRY
, author of
I’ll Mature When I’m Dead:
Dave Barry’s Amazing Tales of Adulthood
“I loved
The Journal of Best Practices
by fellow Aspergian David Finch.
This book perfectly captures the essence of succeeding at
married life from the perspective of an Aspergian male. If you’re
in an AS-NT relationship—or any relationship—you absolutely must
read this book! It’s an upbeat and refreshing change.”
—J
OHN
E
LDER
R
OBISON
, author of
Look Me in the Eye
“Funny, moving, and insightful.”
—K
IRKUS
R
EVIEWS
At some point in nearly every marriage,
a wife finds herself asking, What the @#!% is wrong with my husband?! In David Finch’s case, this turns out to be an apt question. Five years after he married Kristen, the love of his life, they learn that he has Asperger syndrome. The diagnosis explains David’s ever-growing list of quirks and compulsions, his lifelong propensity to quack and otherwise melt down in social exchanges, and his clinical-strength inflexibility. But it doesn’t make him any easier to live with.
Determined to change, David sets out to understand Asperger syndrome and learn to be a better husband—no easy task for a guy whose inability to express himself rivals his two-year-old daughter’s, who thinks his responsibility for laundry extends no further than throwing things in (or at) the hamper, and whose autism-spectrum condition makes seeing his wife’s point of view a near impossibility.
Nevertheless, David devotes himself to improving his marriage with an endearing yet hilarious zeal that involves excessive note-taking, performance reviews, and most of all, the Journal of Best Practices: a collection of hundreds of maxims and hard-won epiphanies that result from self-reflection both comic and painful. They include “Don’t change the radio station when she’s singing along,” “Apologies do not count when you shout them,” and “Be her friend, first and always.” Guided by the Journal of Best Practices, David transforms himself over the course of two years from the world’s most trying husband to the husband who tries the hardest, the husband he’d always meant to be.
Filled with humor and surprising wisdom,
The Journal of Best Practices
is a candid story of ruthless self-improvement, a unique window into living with an autism-spectrum condition, and proof that a true heart can conquer all.
David Finch
grew up on a farm in northern Illinois and attended the University of Miami, where he studied music engineering technology. In 2008, he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. His essay “Somewhere Inside, a Path to Empathy” appeared in
The New York Times
and became the basis for this book. David lives in northern Illinois with his wife and their two children.
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JACKET DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION BY REX BONOMELLI
COPY RIGHT © 2012 SIMON & SCHUSTER
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Copyright © 2012 by David Finch
Author’s Note: This is a memoir. I have been faithful to my recollections. Certain events and dialogue have been adapted to suit the narrative. The names and identifying characteristics of some individuals have been changed.
