*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Loved this book! it's great to connect to the author on so many levels and reading this book made me notice all sorts of stuff i do that i did'nt even notice i did!! great read.

I looked forward to listening to this book as I have two children with high functioning autism. I found Mickey Rowe to be fascinating. I think he is very courageous as my experience with autistic individuals is that they don’t like attention or to be I. The spotlight.
Of course there is the well known saying , “ if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism “ as everyone is an individual.
This book was humorous and inspiring. I enjoyed reading the facts and statistics. I truly recommend it 5 star book.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and the publisher. I always love when the author narrates his or her book.

What a powerful, inspiring story! I love the awareness Mickey brings to the disability community and the encouragement he gives to everyone that our gifts matter and the world needs what we have to share. I think everyone needs to read this book!

Also, Mickey narrating it was perfect! So good to hear this story in his own voice.

Whatever you think you may know or may not know about autism, may just be changed by this book. I listened to the audiobook (thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity the review) and within the first 10 minutes Mickey had my full attention and empathy. On a personal level, with a close family member 'on the spectrum', this was an eye-opener. This is part auto-biography, part manifesto, all heart. Filled with humor, sadness, heartbreak and giggles, Mickey also shares the harsh reality of living as a person with disabilities in the USA (not that I think for a moment that it is better anywhere else in the world). He makes it one of his goals to be the first autistic actor to play the lead in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". If you are not familiar with this book/play, the lead, Christopher has got Asperger's syndrome. Also, have you ever wondered why 'Hollywood' always tend to cast 'able-bodied' actors to play the roles of disabled characters - that question and so many others unfolds in a way that will leave you stunned. The audiobook is narrated by Mickey himself and he brings his own story to life in a way that only he can. 4/5 rating #FearlesslyDifferent
Publication date: 15 March 2022,
RB Media, Recorded Books
Biographies & Memoirs, Entertainment

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me access to this amazing book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very insightful and informative book. I went in without knowing what to expect except to have learnt something when I finished it.
I not only learned just one thing but so many, about how our ableist society harms disabled people, how certain "normalized" things play into it and how hard it can be for disabled people to go through life.
Chapter 14th broke my heart, there were a lot of instances that made me sad, a few related to chapter 14th and some others.
I appreciate the fact the the audiobook is narrated by the author himself, it made the book feel more personal.
I'm going to recommend this to everyone. A very important book that should be read by everyone.

I didn't finish the book, please have that in mind for this review.
I read the description and thought it would be interesting to learn from an Autistic person but to be honest I feel that a book like this is for a very specific public and I'm not it, I have to let you know it was not boring nor bad written it was just not my cup of tea, that said, I listed to the audiobook and the narrator/author has very good tone and speed, I usually listen at 1.2 or 1.5 and I was able to understand just fine. I was almost unable to tell when there were cuts or re-recordings, it was pretty seamless.
The story telling its easy to follow and nicely pieced.

This book is SO IMPORTANT! Such a good book that I will be recommending to so many people! I appreciate that the author is the narrator as well. The whole neurodivergent community will benefit from this book and I will absolutely make sure that it will be available in my library!

Fearlessly Different: An Autistic Actor's Journey to Broadway's Biggest Stage (Hardcover)
by Mickey Rowe
I started reviewing the book as I listened to it. Different from my usual processes. It was not that I heard this as an auditory book but because his open process of story telling. This was for many reasons even before he asked to farther broad cast the book. First of all, I made an immediate connection to this story. I saw my students, and myself in his struggles. Next I saw his observations about disabilities in school, either accommodation or teachers not understanding as a reality I see every day. The simple fact that after high school disable students have a harder road. They lose their advocates when parents are removed from choices in colleges. I have noticed when my kids went to college how much parents sometimes disable kids their parents are the ones fighting for their accommodation. I wonder if high schools should teach them to self advocate with at touch legal means.
This is an amazing story of the personal struggle of a young boy over coming the many struggles in his world. He made up his own language, before grade school that he shared with his family. Over coming many physical problems including sight problems caused by his premature nature. He was unlabeled in school but this caused more problems than helped. He has so many personal insights, and so much human connection not only to acting. He was employed in the theater as a young child, from stilt walking, to non speaking performances. He went to college, and worked hard to graduate debt free. He was his own champion, he worked hard as a street performer. Showing problems with federal aid, and federal laws shows how limited society is on giving people with disabilities not only educational provisions, or even jobs. Disabled workers by law are not required to have a minimum wage, they are barely paid for their work in the even in large companies. He shows how police do not know how to interact with people of disabilities, 33 or 50 percent are killed, even more for black disabled people. Worked for the summer at Seattle children's theater, to open the way for disabled actors. He was an audience favorite, the actors did not understand the differences. He was only diagnosed with Autism as an adult. He became a disability advocate, looking into universal accommodation. Looking at the rules made for able person. Disable people have to request accommodation and hope they are given. He has hope that disability should be represented in media, plays and television. He is very open about his personal life and his struggles in his adult acting career.

I had to look him up https://mickeyrowe.com/.

4 +
I went into this without any big expectations. I did love Christopher John Francis Boone in author, Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time". But it was so much more!
The subtitle of this is An Autistic Actor’s Journey to Broadway’s Biggest Stage
This story is an eye opener to many. As a high school Guidance Counselor I have had several students who are autistic. My students were all incredibly bright and had no problem in an academic setting however totally had difficulties fitting in social settings.

This is a WOW read, informative, humorous, inspirational and emotional. ~ Try to read chapter 14 without crying!
My only fear is that this story is that it won’t reach the people who need to read it. Perhaps Jenna or Reese can get folks to read this!

Want to thank NetGalley and RB Media for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 15, 2022.

I received a copy of the Audiobook of Fearlessly different from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Listening to this novel was an experience like no other, the way Rowe talked while reading the novel made it seem more like a much needed conversation then a run of the mill audiobook. I am very glad to have been given the opportunity to listen to this audiobook and have already preordered a copy! The insightfulness of Rowe’s writing and the perspective of it leaves readers with much to think about. For me, the novel was something very different from what I am used to reading, not just because of the author being a straight white man, but because he talks alot about both his privilege and his lack of privilege and for that I am grateful. Overall, this book provided some perspective for me. I know a few people who are on the spectrum and really although I’ve done a bit of research I never really realized just how little disability representation there is in any form of media. It's strange to think about really, I can turn on the TV or easily find a book that has the representation I want to see, but many people don’t have that luxury.
I think this book is necessary for anyone looking to understand more about the lack of disability representation and the adversities that are faced by those with disabilities. With this in mind, this novel shouldn’t be the final piece for anyone's understanding, learning or ally ship, but I do believe it's a good place to start. It provides a much needed glimpse into the one-sidedness of disability representation in books and television and the need for stories such as this one to be lifted up. Without dragging this review out, this book provides a much needed conversation starter for some tough discussions and perspective shifts and I will be making everyone I know read it.