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Masato and Sachiko Azuma welcome their newborn son with joy. Born "with the morning light", they name him Hikaru, which is Japanese for "To be bright". But almost from the beginning, Sachiko notices that something isn’t quite right with her son. He doesn’t like to be held, he appears not to hear, and has other behaviors that disrupt their home in ways they did not expect with a newborn. Worse, nothing Sachiko does seems to help reduce the problems. Masato starts working more and becomes less involved, blaming her when he can't sleep. Her mother-in-law blames her for the problems Hikaru appears to be having because "children grow up as they are raised". Even her friends in her mother's group don't understand the difficulties and begin to withdraw from her.

Alone, blaming herself, Sachiko is surprised to learn that her son may have a disorder known as autism. She's never heard of it and it seems so farfetched that at first she refuses to believe the possibility. But, as Hikaru's problems and developmental delays become more and more apparent and separate her more from others, including her own husband, she realizes that she needs to look into the diagnoses both for her own sake and her son's.

Impression: Vol. 1 of With the Light chronicles Sachiko's and Hikaru's journey through the maze that makes up the diagnoses, treatment, and living with someone with autism from birth through Hikaru's early elementary years. Because it's a manga, much of how it covers the disability is simplistic, but it still manages to do an excellent job of educating the reader on what autism is and how it affects everyone involved with someone who is autistic. As the mother of an autistic boy myself, I was able to relate to the feelings of doubt, the isolation, and the joys that coping with the disability can bring.

The only warning I have about the book is that it is clearly from a Japanese perspective and the culture surrounding disabilities is very different. For example, most, if not all, schools in the U.S. have classrooms for disabled students, so a mother of an autistic child does not generally have to go out of her district just to find one. There may not be a guarantee the class is the best for her child, but there will be a class to place him or her in. Services can be hard to find, but they are not nearly non-existent, and, generally speaking, special ed teachers in the U.S. are required to have special ed training at the college level.

Beyond that, With the Light is a heartwarming story that clearly explains what autism is and how it affects everyone involved. You can't help but feel for Sachiko as she struggles to make those around her understand that she's not a bad mother, but that her child has a specific disability that affects his behavior. At this stage, the journey is often frustrating as she tries to reach out to people who can help and tries to find ways to reach her son behind the autism wall. The art is generally very beautiful, and the writing easy to follow even for first time manga readers. And the volume includes a couple of personal essays from those who are grappling with the autism puzzle.

My youngest daughter even read it and came away with a new understanding of what her brother needs. I highly recommend With the Light.