This searingly honest account of experience with autism is above all a story of survival: McDonnell's overcoming the roller coaster ride of raising a deeply troubled son and his constant bravery in the face of overwhelming difficulties. Photos. McDonnell will appear on CBS This Morning.
But over time, I began slowly to redefine what I took to be our common humanity. I realized we are all only a car accident away from mental incapacity. People who are mentally handicapped are in no way essentially different from the rest of us. Our intelligence may seem to be an inherent part of our selves, but it simply resides in our bodies tentatively and always in grave danger.
This book was written by a professor at my college, and her husband was an English prof from whom I took several classes. It was a good memoir of living with a child with special needs, and well written to boot.