The Real Rain Man cover

The Real Rain Man

by Fran Peek

(From Wikipedia): Laurence Kim Peek (November 11, 1951 – December 19, 2009) was an American savant. Known as a "megasavant",he had an exceptional memory, but he also experienced social difficulties, possibly resulting from a developmental disability related to congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt, in the movie Rain Man. Unlike Babbitt, who had autism, Peek had FG syndrome. This book was written by Kim's father, Fran, in 1997, and details Kim's extraordinary life and experiences. Kim Peek died in 2009 from a heart attack and Fran Peek died in 2014 at age 88.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?