With The Light is an amazing manga about mother, Sachiko Azuma as she raises her autistic son, Hikaru. As you read the manga not only do you enjoy a story full of family pains and triumphs but you also learn a great deal about autism and autistic people.

Sachiko struggles with the diagnoses at first, panicking in response before finally accepting and seeking help to learn what she can do. Her next hurdle is a disinterested and then even ignorant husband. Afterwards she does her best to find Hikaru a good day care/preschool. Every obstacle she tackles with determination and while she isn't the traditional 'strong woman' she is impressive in her strength of mind and spirit and is a great role model as a mother.

The tale is as heart warming as heart breaking and you can't help but love and believe in the characters. Keiko Tobe (writer and artist) draws in the extra characters for repeat performances, deepening many of them.

One of the things that sticks with me is when it is time for Hikaru to graduate preschool he is asked to fill out a questionnaire in which one of the questions is 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'. With his limited communicative abilities Hikaru can not answer for himself, so Sachiko tries to figure out a good response. Finally she decides she hopes Hikaru will grow up to be 'a happy working adult'. It's a beautiful sentiment which appears again several times throughout the following volumes.

At the end of the volume you will also find some written excerpts from other mothers of autistic children.

The manga is informative and touching as well as owning an enveloping story that keeps you reading, I recommend it for manga fans or those wanting to try out manga as well as anyone interested in a story about an autistic child.