The Reckoning Quotes

“Peter declared that he wished Adam had never been born, that there could be no remembering who he was outside of who he became. “That didn’t come right away. That’s not a natural thing, when you’re thinking about your kid. But, God, there’s no question. There can only be one conclusion, when you finally get there. That’s fairly recent, too, but that’s totally where I am.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“Émile Durkheim, the great scholar of suicide, wrote that it can be “not an act of despair, but of abnegation.” Adam abnegated humanity with his act.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“Matricide is usually committed by overprotected boys—by a son who wishes, as one study puts it, “with his desperate act, to free himself from his state of dependency on her, a dependency that he believes has not allowed him to grow up.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“Both autism and psychopathy entail a lack of empathy. Psychologists, though, distinguish between the “cognitive empathy” deficits of autism (difficulty understanding what emotions are, trouble interpreting other people’s nonverbal signs) and the “emotional empathy” deficits of psychopathy (lack of concern about hurting other people, an inability to share their feelings). The subgroup of people with neither kind of empathy appears to be small, but such people may act out their malice in ways that can feel both guileless and brutal.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“Violence by autistic people is more commonly reactive than planned—triggered, for example, by an invasion of personal space.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“Among the hardest people to engage in treatment are young males who may be angry, suspicious, and socially isolated.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“I told him he’s living in a box right now, and the box will only get smaller over time if he doesn’t get some treatment.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“Many people with autism speak in a flat tone, and avoiding eye contact is common, too, because trying to interpret sounds and faces at the same time is overwhelming.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“as children grow up and tasks become more difficult, what seems like a minor impairment becomes major.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer

“He is an affable man with a poise that often hides his despair.”
― Andrew Solomon, The Reckoning: Searching for Meaning with the Father of the Sandy Hook Killer