Nobody Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl

I haven't read it yet but I guess it good because it was recommended in a group session.

This autobiography is compelling, it draws the reader in. It tells the story of an autistic woman who only as an adult finds out that this is the label that best fits her. I don't agree with some of the reviews here that this book is an "awkward fiction" rather than an accurate account of autism. Donna does not even use the label until towards the end of the book, so it is unlikely she was simply trying to capitalize on the label to write a book. The book relates how she grapples with being different, it tells us of her journey of trying to understand why this is the case, and of trying to overcome some of her difficulties related to being different, and autistic. Of course, as any other person her life experiences are colored by various factors, rather than one specific label. In Donna's case, she was affected quite considerably by abuse in her home environment. More generally, she was often misunderstood by people. An interesting aspect of this book is that it makes visible that being autistic is made more difficult by the lack of understanding and accommodation of others. Donna's autistic features made her vulnerable to abuse and being mocked. Fortunately she did meet some compassionate people and a few kindred spirits along the way. Donna develops different personalities to cope with being different. I noticed that for some people posting a review here this means that her account testifies less to autism and more to multiple personality disorder. While reading this book, I did also think of multiple personality disorder but I did not see this as invalidating her account of autism. I felt that she was conveying how in her personal journey to cope with difference, she developed multiple personalities to protect herself and to be able to communicate with the world without making herself too vulnerable, and to try to pass as neurotypical.. Overall, I think this book is well-written and provides good insight in what it could be like to be autistic.

Il libro è arrivato in ottime condizioni e in tempi brevi. È un libro molto utile per chi si vuole avvicinare al tema tanto delicato qual è l'autismo. La protagonista/ narratrice racconta la sua vita, dall'infanzia all'età adulta, tra difficoltà e incomprensioni.

Actually Donna Williams felt different and distant from 'the world', and became withdrawn into 'her world', where she played 3 characters - Carol, Willie, and Donna herself. And It must be extremely hard to get into 'the world' because she had to face a whole bunch of social minefields not only at school but also at home, where her evil mother and older brother terribly bullied Donna. So I suppose a nobody nowhere means she had nowhere to be comfortable in 'the world'. I suspect like most autistic/Asperger people she saw everything differently from other people, who often called her eccentric.After all she was trying to get into 'the world' as she dealt with various kinds of people including autistic ones. I guess it means the starting point of a somebody somewhere.

Interesting