Looking After: A Portrait of My Autistic Brother

Meet Lionel, Caroline’s older brother. Born in the late 1940s, when little was known about autism, Lionel was considered a peculiarity. From the beginning, he was a silent child, oblivious to the people around him and intent only on playing with his toy trucks. By the time he turned four, doctors declared him ineducable and advised that he be institutionalised – a shockingly standard practise at the time.

No one could have predicted that Lionel would go onto music college and find his place in the world. With the help of his mother – who refused to send him away – Lionel lived a life that was certainly unusual but never dull. He had perfect pitch, could multiply three-figure numbers in his head, or work out which day of the week you were born on, the instant you told him your birthday.

But when Lionel’s mother dies, and shortly after he is diagnosed with cancer, his two sisters struggle to fill the void – to become Lionel’s caretaker and support him as they had promised their mother. Looking After is both a portrait of one autistic man's remarkable life, and a heart-rending story of how one family learnt to care for each other, to deal with loss and to be by each other’s side at the very end.

'A beautiful, bracing gem of a book, quite unlike any other family memoir I’ve ever read' Polly Morland, author of A FORTUNATE WOMAN

'Beautifully written, erudite and important . . . Looking After is a love letter to an autistic brother and to family itself, and a reminder of the power of empathy to save lives' Christie Watson, author of THE LANGUAGE OF KINDNESS

'Held me captive to the very last page. Wise, compassionate and compellingly told' Monica Ali, author of LOVE MARRIAGE

'This life-spanning memoir is an affecting and affectionate tribute' Bookseller, Editor's Choice

© Caroline Elton 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025