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At Home in the Land of Oz
On sale
15th June 2007
Price: £17.99
Anne’s sister Becky was born in 1958, long before most people had even heard of autism. Diagnosed with “emotional disturbance,” Becky was subjected for much of her childhood to well-meaning but futile efforts at “rehabilitation” or “cure,” as well as prolonged spells in institutions away from her family.
Painting a vivid picture of growing up in small-town America during the Sixties, Anne describes her sister’s and her own painful childhood experiences with compassion and honesty. Struggling with the separation from her sister and the emotional and financial hardships the family experienced as a result of Becky’s condition, Anne nevertheless found that her sister had something that “normal” people were unable to offer. Today she is accepting of her sister’s autism and the impact, both painful and positive, it has had on both their lives.
This bittersweet memoir will resonate with families affected by autism and other developmental disorders and will appeal to everyone interested in the condition.
Painting a vivid picture of growing up in small-town America during the Sixties, Anne describes her sister’s and her own painful childhood experiences with compassion and honesty. Struggling with the separation from her sister and the emotional and financial hardships the family experienced as a result of Becky’s condition, Anne nevertheless found that her sister had something that “normal” people were unable to offer. Today she is accepting of her sister’s autism and the impact, both painful and positive, it has had on both their lives.
This bittersweet memoir will resonate with families affected by autism and other developmental disorders and will appeal to everyone interested in the condition.
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Reviews
This is a gripping book about a family's survival to get their daughter disgnosed. When they finally receive a disgnosis they are told it is autism. It takes you through the journey from when Becky was a baby until she was in her forties. It covers all the challenges the family encounter just to survive and some of the rewards they receive for being persistent. Readers will be won over by the herat-warming story of this family, who have usually encountered some of the same roadblocks as other families coping with autism.
The journey from early childhood through puberty and into adulthood is movingly documanted in a frank and critical way...This book shows how autism can have an impact on siblings and their efforts to reconcile their own developmental needs with the challengeing demands of a sister with autism.