Donna Williams delves into the lived experiences of individuals with autism, offering a unique window into their perception of the world. Her writing explores a reality of disorienting colors, patterns, and sounds, where the external often blurs with internal sensations. Williams details the struggle between the need for connection and the dread of physical contact, along with self-soothing behaviors as a means of affirming existence. Her prose is brave, analytical, and free of self-pity, revealing the complexity of autism and its profound impact on an individual's life.
This book takes us deeper into Williams' journey. She recounts the funny, sometimes harrowing awakenings arising from sessions with a cognitive psychologist. We travel with her in her breakthroughs in working with autistic children and adults like her, as she finally finds a way of 'simply being' among others, without selling out who she really is.
A magnificent, moving ecological fable, perfect for fans of Annihilation and Oryx & Crake.
This book, written by an autistic person for people with autism and related disorders, carers, and the professionals who work with them, is a practical handbook to understanding, living with and working with autism. It shows clearly how the behaviours associated with autism can have a range of different causes.
In the acclaimed sequel to Nobody Nowhere--in which Donna Williams gives readers a guided tour of life with autism--Williams explores the four years since her diagnosis and her attempts to leave her "world under glass" and live normally. NPR sponsorship.
Labeled deaf, retarded, disturbed and insane, Donna Williams lived in a world of her own. Alternating between rigid hostility and extroversion, she waged what she termed her "war against the world." She existed in a dreamlike state, parroting the voices of those around her in the hope that they would leave her alone. Few people understood her, least of all Donna helself. It was not until the age of twenty-five that Donna discovered the word- autism- that would at last give her the opportunity to understand herself and begin to build a bridge to join the world as most know it. "Nobody Nowhere, Donna Williams' extraordinary autobiography, is her heroic attempt to come to terms with autism. This eloquent memoir reveals a fierce intelligence, great creativity and much humour. It will shatter many myths and misconceptions. The poetic sensibility and extraordinary insights of "Nobody Nowhere make it inspiring reading for everyone. "From the Trade Paperback edition.