Published July 1999 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN-13: 978-1853027499
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This was the very first book I read about Asperger Syndrome period, much less about women and AS. This is an autobiographical story of a woman who discovers that she has AS after one of her daughters is diagnosed with it. She speaks very candidly about her journey: from being considered a “gifted but spoiled” young girl; to the somewhat sheltered life of her teenage years; to the rude awakening at college once her AS-related difficulties manifest themselves (navigating around campus, sensory dysfunction, inability to read people, and so forth); to her emergence into her career as a university professor; and finally to her marriage, the difficulties she encounters as a new mother, and the diagnosis of her daughter.
If you are a woman and suspect that you have AS, I would say YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK. It opened my eyes, affirming that I indeed was not alone. I had already begun to explore the possibility of me being an Aspie with my counselor, but reading this book began to solidify that concept in my mind. While every Aspie woman will be different, I found many parallels between my life and hers — the sensory issues, the inability to tell if someone was using me, the “gifted and spoiled” label, the feeling of being “odd” or “out of place”. A very good and engaging read.
Comments on: "Pretending to Be Normal" (3)
[...] Labeled AutisticHow Can I Talk If My Lips Don’t Move?Pretending to Be NormalThe Complete Guide to Asperger SyndromeResourcesAspie PoemsPoem: Letter to [...]
[...] Labeled AutisticHow Can I Talk If My Lips Don’t Move?Pretending to Be NormalThe Complete Guide to Asperger SyndromeResourcesAspie PoemsPoem: Letter to [...]
[...] with having Asperger Syndrome but also from the title of Liane Holliday Willey‘s first book, “Pretending to Be Normal”. She discovered as an adult that she has Asperger’s, and this book documents her early life, [...]