Joe The Salamander follows Joe, a man with neuro-diversity , from birth through age thirty-five. Joe, a born people-pleaser, only chooses to say the word, "Yes," to everyone, except his mother, Millie, who he has unconditional trust with. The other woman in his life, Laura, his nurse on-duty at the time of his birth, becomes a life-long friend of his and his entire family. Joe, overwhelmed by loud or “busy” environments gets through life by wearing various costumes but identifies with Superman as his protector, in his various television/movie forms. As he gets older, he finds comfort by wearing Superman costumes under his regular clothing. It is only after his parents die tragically on 9/11 that Joe stops feeling safe using the Superman strategy, realizing that even Superman couldn't have prevented this occurrence. Throughout the novel, Joe's inability to successfully interpret life's sights and sounds, combined with his singular word language use, causes him to be placed in situations which work out in ways, he never intended. The book takes the reader through infancy, toddler, then through his school years, a large focus the difficult Middle School and High School social challenges. His mother tries to increase Joe's independence so he could eventually survive on his own, but after the death of both his parents in the World Trade Center on 9/11, Joe is left to figure out the world on his own. As he hits his mid-thirties, and entirely by the desperation surrounding his self-imprisoned life, he goes to the local costume shop to buy the bigger, and better Superman costume he had admired for years, to help him re-enter society using this old coping mechanism. Joe is arrested at the Salamander costume when he is mistaken for a worker at Super Salad. He is rescued by Laura, who is down and out since the death of Joe’s parents, rescues Joe and they end up supporting one another.