Jerry Newport is an activist and the author of two widely read books in the Asperger's community: Asperger's and Sexuality: Puberty and Beyond (with Mary Newport) and Your Life Is Not a Label: A Guide to Living Fully with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. In addition to coordinating several Asperger's support groups in Arizona, Jerry serves as a speaker on a variety of topics, from Asperger's-specific concerns to broader issues such as bullying and depression.
Mary Newport is completing her bachelor's degrees in music and psychology. She and Jerry live in northern Arizona with their birds.
Johnny Dodd has been a writer at People magazine for a decade and has reported on some of pop culture's biggest stories. His work has appeared in dozens of magazines, but stories of personal triumph -- those of others and his own -- are his favorite beat. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
"A fantastic voyage into two different kinds of minds. Absolutely
riveting." -- Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation
"Readers will be touched and inspired by this book that proves that
against all odds, love does occasionally triumph over all." --
Tucson Citizen
The realization that "our community seemed to know more about the first twenty years of an autistic person's life than it did about the rest of that life" leads the Newports to tell their own boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-finds-girl love story but with a difference, for both suffer from Asperger's syndrome. At times, this "terminal cluelessness" seems both the cause of and the least of their problems: Jerry's life "had drifted from one failed vocation to the next, [among them] pot dealer, horse-race betting fanatic, taxi driver, Goodwill bell ringer, bookstore cashier, elementary school librarian." Mary's more traumatic experiences included a cult marriage, abusive lovers and mental hospital stints. Both grapple with anxiety and despair before epiphanies: for Jerry, when he sees Rain Man; for Mary, when her brother directs her to the Autistic Society. Love for the two slips in the day they meet at a party for adult autistics. Then they experienced media fame, becoming "Mr. and Mrs. Autism" (a front-page profile in the Los Angeles Times; a 60 Minutes visit; an eponymous movie). Boy loses girl again in a divorce, but love triumphs. Along the way, autistic readers will find comforting fellowship, and general readers will acquire valuable knowledge. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
"A fantastic voyage into two different kinds of minds. Absolutely riveting." -- Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
