The Record Player

While visiting a small antique store on their honeymoon, John and Beth MacFarlane received the most vital gift of their new life together—a tarnished, old Victor gramophone—along with a charge from the owner to “fill your house with music.” Music, as it turns out, was the only thing that would calm their colicky son, Gabriel. They were soon to discover that colic was the least of their problems when their beautiful, first child was diagnosed with autism. This is the story of how a young family navigates the demanding and frequently heart-wrenching journey of raising a non-verbal special-needs child and ultimately uncovers his unique talent.

Bryan Jepson is the father of three children, two of whom have autism. He is a board-certified emergency medicine physician but also spent nine years treating children with autism and looking for biomedical solutions to the disorder. He was the founder of Children’s Biomedical Center of Utah in 2002 and was part of a team that established the Thoughtful House Center for Children in Austin, Texas in 2006 (currently the Johnson Center for Child Health and Development). He is the co-author of a book entitled Changing the Course of Autism: a scientific approach for parents and physicians by Bryan Jepson MD with Jane Johnson, published in 2007. He currently lives in Monument, Colorado with his wife and two of his children. This is his first novel.