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Black Rainbow: A Gripping Family Drama About PDA the journey to Self-discovery and Acceptance
"A beautiful book which speaks to the worry, heartbreak, and unseen battles faced by countless parents whose children are failed by the system. Compelling, funny and gut-wrenching, this book is here to tell you that you are not alone and it's not your fault."
Rachel Moseley - Principal Academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University
“This book is amazing. Danielle has written a fiction book that mirrors real life for many families who have children with Pathological Demand Avoidance.”
Steph Curtis – PDA blogger and Bestselling author of PDA in the Family
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She doesn't have it all. She doesn't even want it all. SHE WANTS TO BE HEARD.
Sarah is married with two children, lives in a suburban house and is an educated woman - on the surface she SHOULD have it all but...
She is seriously struggling and so is her young, misunderstood daughter. Sarah is constantly trying to conform to fit in, her parenting skills are judged and her voice is quashed.
As her own family becomes frustrated and it feels like they can't support her, Sarah worries that she may lose her two best friends too - after all, how many times can she cancel their plans?!
When a chance meeting with a stranger has a profound impact upon her, will Sarah be able to find her voice before it's too late? Will her friends be able to inject some laughter back into her life? And, more importantly, can she find a way to have her daughter be better understood and accepted?
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Praise for Black Rainbow
“This book is a must-read for anyone looking to explore themes of identity, resilience, and the power of human connection.”
Kelly Mahler – Occupational Therapist and Educator
“The narrative is deeply engaging.”
Sally Cat - PDA author, artist and animator
‘I loved reading the book. Danielle writes so beautifully to help people understand what it’s really like to be a PDA parent. When you realise you’re not alone, that’s powerful!’
Libby Hill – Small Talk Speech and Language Therapy
“A compelling read which had me both laughing and crying!”
Alice Running – PDA author of Helping Your Child with PDA Live a Healthier Life
“Black Rainbow is beautifully written, entertaining, informative, and yet at times heartbreakingly sad.”
Laura Kerbey – PAST
“Filled with warmth and humour, and frequently emotional and eye-opening, Black Rainbow is ultimately an uplifting story of redemption, self-discovery, finding personal freedom and discovering your own truth.”
Rebecca Huseyin – PDA blogger
“From the moment I started reading I couldn’t put it down! As an autistic parent myself the book just made sense!" Jodie Cooksey – Autistic blogger from First Time Valley Mum
“This is such a fantastic insight, which gave me moment
Rachel Moseley - Principal Academic in Psychology at Bournemouth University
“This book is amazing. Danielle has written a fiction book that mirrors real life for many families who have children with Pathological Demand Avoidance.”
Steph Curtis – PDA blogger and Bestselling author of PDA in the Family
__________________________________________________________________________________________
She doesn't have it all. She doesn't even want it all. SHE WANTS TO BE HEARD.
Sarah is married with two children, lives in a suburban house and is an educated woman - on the surface she SHOULD have it all but...
She is seriously struggling and so is her young, misunderstood daughter. Sarah is constantly trying to conform to fit in, her parenting skills are judged and her voice is quashed.
As her own family becomes frustrated and it feels like they can't support her, Sarah worries that she may lose her two best friends too - after all, how many times can she cancel their plans?!
When a chance meeting with a stranger has a profound impact upon her, will Sarah be able to find her voice before it's too late? Will her friends be able to inject some laughter back into her life? And, more importantly, can she find a way to have her daughter be better understood and accepted?
________________________________________________________________________________________
Praise for Black Rainbow
“This book is a must-read for anyone looking to explore themes of identity, resilience, and the power of human connection.”
Kelly Mahler – Occupational Therapist and Educator
“The narrative is deeply engaging.”
Sally Cat - PDA author, artist and animator
‘I loved reading the book. Danielle writes so beautifully to help people understand what it’s really like to be a PDA parent. When you realise you’re not alone, that’s powerful!’
Libby Hill – Small Talk Speech and Language Therapy
“A compelling read which had me both laughing and crying!”
Alice Running – PDA author of Helping Your Child with PDA Live a Healthier Life
“Black Rainbow is beautifully written, entertaining, informative, and yet at times heartbreakingly sad.”
Laura Kerbey – PAST
“Filled with warmth and humour, and frequently emotional and eye-opening, Black Rainbow is ultimately an uplifting story of redemption, self-discovery, finding personal freedom and discovering your own truth.”
Rebecca Huseyin – PDA blogger
“From the moment I started reading I couldn’t put it down! As an autistic parent myself the book just made sense!" Jodie Cooksey – Autistic blogger from First Time Valley Mum
“This is such a fantastic insight, which gave me moment
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 16, 2024
32 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 5, 2024
‘Black Rainbow’ is a unique and powerful story about a mother and daughter at the start of their journey to understanding Lena’s true self whilst battling the SEND system and lack of understanding along the way. I loved Lena’s feisty, creative and determined character, and I learned a lot about Paw Patrol!
This novel about an autistic girl with PDA who feels she isn’t seen by the world around her and is driven to such distress in school is the book that every professional in the education/SEND system needs to read.
This quote stuck out to me: ‘I was starting to see that the heroes of the professional world were so tied up by the restraints of a flawed system, that they were frustratingly limited in their freedom to really help families like mine. It made my gratitude deeper.’
This novel about an autistic girl with PDA who feels she isn’t seen by the world around her and is driven to such distress in school is the book that every professional in the education/SEND system needs to read.
This quote stuck out to me: ‘I was starting to see that the heroes of the professional world were so tied up by the restraints of a flawed system, that they were frustratingly limited in their freedom to really help families like mine. It made my gratitude deeper.’
August 23, 2025
"I could feel her pain as if it were my own."
There aren't many novels with PDA (pathological demand avoidance) as a central theme. I borrowed Black Rainbow from a library who described it as "PDA fiction-cum-chick lit." I just can't get my head around the nicheness of that Venn diagram. I am very much here for PDAers' stories, but this really wasn't for me.
The setup: Sarah is a middle-aged, middle-class parent experiencing difficulties bringing up her child Lena. Lena is extremely erudite and creative but finds life difficult. She struggles with EBSA (emotion-based school avoidance), anxiety and social communication differences. It unfolds that Lena has a presentation of multiple disabilities, including autism, PDA and ADHD.
A lot comes with discovering your child has a disability: becoming a parent - carer, advocating, navigating laws and rights, fighting "the system", shifting identity, struggling with mental health, questioning your own neurodivergence, marriage problems, family problems, friendship problems, and more. Sarah is also facing body image and self-esteem issues and uses alcohol to self-medicate. Obviously this a lot to cover.
Early on in the story, Lena poignantly describes herself as a "black rainbow" who is different from other children and whom no one really sees. This inspires Sarah to contemplate that she too has "lost her colours". The book takes us through Sarah's voyage of self-discovery through each colour of the rainbow ("red is for tribe", "the green zone", and so on.)
The positives:
Firstly, as a PDAer and a parent to PDAers, there is a lot to relate to: "It's just so hard when everyone tells you that you're doing it wrong." It's validating to know you're not alone.
Secondly, I enjoyed the touching, simple comparisons to the natural world: Lena's caterpillar "pet", ants, camels; "avoiding had long been ingrained in our physical evolution". We are animals after all.
The challenges:
I found it over-descriptive and over-
explanatory, with hundreds of uninteresting and irrelevant details. I generally prefer a show-don't-tell approach, and this was the opposite. Its style was that of a soap opera, and the romance and erotic sections were awkward (not anything I would choose to read!). Jata-Hall is a blogger, and I wonder if the whole thing would have worked better as a series of blogs?
Having said this, Black Rainbow has found an audience. It has been recommended by various professionals and endorsed by the likes of Sally Cat and Laura Kerby. I am grateful to anyone who strives to tell our stories, and I know they won't always hit. To me, the book was a two-starrer, but I have to add an extra star for its very existence in the first place.
There aren't many novels with PDA (pathological demand avoidance) as a central theme. I borrowed Black Rainbow from a library who described it as "PDA fiction-cum-chick lit." I just can't get my head around the nicheness of that Venn diagram. I am very much here for PDAers' stories, but this really wasn't for me.
The setup: Sarah is a middle-aged, middle-class parent experiencing difficulties bringing up her child Lena. Lena is extremely erudite and creative but finds life difficult. She struggles with EBSA (emotion-based school avoidance), anxiety and social communication differences. It unfolds that Lena has a presentation of multiple disabilities, including autism, PDA and ADHD.
A lot comes with discovering your child has a disability: becoming a parent - carer, advocating, navigating laws and rights, fighting "the system", shifting identity, struggling with mental health, questioning your own neurodivergence, marriage problems, family problems, friendship problems, and more. Sarah is also facing body image and self-esteem issues and uses alcohol to self-medicate. Obviously this a lot to cover.
Early on in the story, Lena poignantly describes herself as a "black rainbow" who is different from other children and whom no one really sees. This inspires Sarah to contemplate that she too has "lost her colours". The book takes us through Sarah's voyage of self-discovery through each colour of the rainbow ("red is for tribe", "the green zone", and so on.)
The positives:
Firstly, as a PDAer and a parent to PDAers, there is a lot to relate to: "It's just so hard when everyone tells you that you're doing it wrong." It's validating to know you're not alone.
Secondly, I enjoyed the touching, simple comparisons to the natural world: Lena's caterpillar "pet", ants, camels; "avoiding had long been ingrained in our physical evolution". We are animals after all.
The challenges:
I found it over-descriptive and over-
explanatory, with hundreds of uninteresting and irrelevant details. I generally prefer a show-don't-tell approach, and this was the opposite. Its style was that of a soap opera, and the romance and erotic sections were awkward (not anything I would choose to read!). Jata-Hall is a blogger, and I wonder if the whole thing would have worked better as a series of blogs?
Having said this, Black Rainbow has found an audience. It has been recommended by various professionals and endorsed by the likes of Sally Cat and Laura Kerby. I am grateful to anyone who strives to tell our stories, and I know they won't always hit. To me, the book was a two-starrer, but I have to add an extra star for its very existence in the first place.
October 13, 2024
Amazing
This book was an amazing read, It is very relatable, and I think everyone who knows or suspects a family or friend is autistic/ PDA they should definitely read this book... 😀
This book was an amazing read, It is very relatable, and I think everyone who knows or suspects a family or friend is autistic/ PDA they should definitely read this book... 😀
June 6, 2025
4.5 🌟 for me. As a mom to a child with ASD and PDA, this book made me feel truly seen for the first time. Her words validate the daily battles, the beauty, and the heartbreak we carry. A must-read for any parent on this path
October 22, 2025
that 0hhhhhhhh! moment
My granddaughter recently diagnosed adhd/asd with PDA profile.
A short while into reading this and I had an ‘ohhhhhhh’ moment when I realised I could have been reading about my granddaughter.
Brilliant read, completely resonated with me.
My granddaughter recently diagnosed adhd/asd with PDA profile.
A short while into reading this and I had an ‘ohhhhhhh’ moment when I realised I could have been reading about my granddaughter.
Brilliant read, completely resonated with me.
August 19, 2024
This was a very good read, interesting and uplifting story. It was a great insight into the autism community.
July 17, 2025
A perfect description of having a PDA child. We may not be in exactly the same circumstances but there are some things that are similar for all PDA parents and this book felt so real.
July 23, 2025
I really wanted to like this book as I think it's subject is really important, but the style of writing just wasn't for me.
September 8, 2024
Very good read
It has everything you want from a good book, it's sad,funny and gripping at times. It helps to understand autism.
It has everything you want from a good book, it's sad,funny and gripping at times. It helps to understand autism.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews