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From the
Dust Jacket
This is a poignant and powerful book written
by an autistic who pours out in rapture and agony his deep inner feelings about
his abnormal and at once challenging life. His life was an unfathomable
mystery and an unsolved enigma to others because he had little speech and no
writing ability. When at at the late age of 23 he acquired the ability to
write, it was an infinite thrill for him and the family. He started to
write in order to educate his parents; now he hopes to enlighten other parents
through this book.
As he lived intensely this unique,
uncommunicative and unusual life, he starts with the question:
"Who was I to the world but, really, who was
I?"
He eloquently explores this theme in this
whole book but more emphatically emphasis is given in the first chapter which
concludes movingly as follows; "To the world, I was weird and insane, given to
funny movements with no speech. To me, I was normal in intelligence,
feelings and emotions. But I was afflicted with a debilitating disease
that robbed me of speech and coordination and endowed me with enormous tension
and fear..."
This book deals with his tumultuous and
scathing battle with autism and early therapy, his painful and lonely sojourn in
a residential school, the beneficial and esoteric Ayurvedic treatment in India,
the stunning breakthrough, his burning passion for education especially higher
education and other insightful and penetrating episodes.
This book will be of immense value not only
to parents, siblings and professionals in autism but also to the general public
as a story of challenging endeavor and an unique touching human experience.
Reviews
These writings of a non-verbal young man
with autism describe his sense of isolation, his search for a "real" education,
and his parents dedication to find help for him. Despite his frustrations
and sense of loneliness, he speaks of his hope for a better life and a brighter
future-a triumph of the human spirit. A must read for anyone involved with
the world of autism.
–Dr. Margaret Bauman, M.D.
Pediatric Neurologist,
Harvard Medical School,
Massachusetts General Hospital.
Autistic Krishna Narayanan has extreme
difficulty in speaking and has belatedly learned to write--slowly at age 23.
Overcoming these handicaps, with the help and support of his extraordinarily
dedicated and talented family, Krishna has written a brilliant and informative
account of his life as a severely handicapped but cognitively gifted autistic
person. His book provides a remarkable inside view of autism.
–Bernard Rimland, PhD
Founder, Autism Society of America
Director, Autism Research Institute
"Krishna's book is a remarkable document,
full of insights about his inner experiences and how the world has treated
him...One of the most remarkable things about this book, however, was that
more than once I forgot that it was written by an autistic author,
especially as I read about Krishna's impressions of his travels to Europe and
India... This book compares favorably with other biographies and
autobiographies of individuals with autism. Each of these works, such as
the outstanding books of Temple Grandin, Clara Park and Catharine Maurice,
provides us with fresh and valuable insights into the experiences of people
with autism and their families..."
–Dr. Deborah Fein, Professor of
Psychology
University of Connecticut
"Have you ever read Dickens, Dostoevsky,
Austen, Hugo, or Tolstoy? Krishna has..... "Whether I shall turn out to
be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody
else, these pages must show" wrote Dickens at the beginning of David
Copperfield. The unlucky station and suffering of such heroes and their
ultimate triumph resonates with Krishna's experience. As in these great
books that he so much admires, Krishna triumphs as our hero with a story of
achievement against all odd."
–Kerim M. Munir, M.D.,
D.Sc., Director of Psychiatry,
Harvard Medical School
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