Great and Unfortunate Things

Summary

With the power of Educated and the emotional sweep of When Breath Becomes Air, this inspiring underdog story follows a nonverbal autistic boy—whom society had all but given up on—as he finds his voice, literally and figuratively, becomes one of the youngest professors in the University of Cambridge’s history, and ultimately puts himself in a position to give back.

Jason Arday grew up in a lively corner of South London as the second youngest of three boys. He was diagnosed with autism and developmental delays at age three, and experts told his parents he would never speak, write, or live independently—and should be institutionalized.

His parents refused. Instead, his extraordinary mother, Giff, drawing on her faith and thinking outside the box, embraced his neurodivergence and devoted herself to helping him realize a potential few others believed possible—using everything from the proverbs of her West African culture to music, sports, and film to help him make sense of the world.

In Great and Unfortunate Things, we see how Arday went from being nonverbal as a child and illiterate until he was eighteen to scaling unimag-inable heights as an adult. Without romanticizing the struggle, this is a story of determination against seemingly insurmountable odds—and of a family and a small group of believers whose compassion helped him see what is possible.

A powerful story for our moment, Arday’s journey is a testament to resilience, dignity, and the life-changing force of community in action.