In “So Far So Great,” a Franklin County native shares her life and her advice with eloquence and common sense. Mary P. Miller was born and raised in Greenfield. (Her maiden name was Pierson.) She lived there as a young wife and mother until 1977. At that time she had her first husband’s surname, Fitz.

Her book is subtitled “Lessons Learned from an Autistic Son’s Journey from Infancy to Middle Age.” It chronicles her decades-long battle to find the best care and the happiest life for her son. Jay was born in 1969 and is now in his mid-40s.

In the early 1970s, autism was barely on our cultural radar. Mary Miller had to search hard to find a diagnosis for her son — and she had to search even harder to find doctors and schools capable of helping him reach his full potential.

“So Far So Great!” draws heavily on a journal she began to keep when Jay was 2 years old. It is honest about her personal ups and downs, as well as Jay’s.

The book follows the path of their life together, detailing her fight to enhance Jay’s life without neglecting his two older sisters.

Over the years, Miller has become a professional fundraiser and advocate for families with children who have special needs, autism in particular.

Miller writes with candor about her frustrations and triumphs. At the end of each chapter in her saga, she shares a “lesson learned” from the experiences detailed.

These lessons aren’t useful only for parents of special-needs children. Many of them could be absorbed profitably by those of us just trying to live better lives and raise healthier families.

She reminds her readers, for example, to trust their own instincts about their children and their situations — and never to lose their senses of humor.

I asked Miller by email what made her decide to write this book.

“I wrote it for my family and for other families raising a special-needs child,” she replied, adding, “I’ve tried to offer both hope and advice in the lessons learned along the way.”

“So Far So Great” will remind parents of children with special needs that they are not alone — and will encourage them to fight as Miller has.

One of the high points of her book is her description of her dealings with the now-adult Jay. The two frequently travel together, and it is clear that this mother has helped her son develop something for which we could all strive — a capacity to enjoy the world and all it has to offer.

The book is a delight and an inspiration.

Mary Miller will sign copies of “So Far So Great!” on Saturday, April 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the World Eye Bookshop in Greenfield.

Tinky Weisblat is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” Visit her website: www.TinkyCooks.com