Main description:

Rachael Lee Harris spent her early childhood locked in an autistic fog until beginning her journey from a fragmented world to one in which things began to make sense. Rachael's determination to take her place in society led her down many paths, from beauty therapist to Catholic nun, from mother and wife to divorcee and working mom. Today, she is a psychotherapist specializing in helping others on the Autism Spectrum.

Rachael's story explores areas such as schooling, family relationships, employment, travel, and faith culminating in monastic life, motherhood, dating, and marriage. Through her story, we get a more "rounded" positive vision of how an autistic life can develop and insight into the benefits of being "on the spectrum" alongside the very real picture of its challenges. Addressing the culture of disability and negativity that surrounds so much of the public perception of the Autism Spectrum, Rachael presents a more moderate and perhaps more objective assessment of her own life experiences, as well as the potential for others on the Spectrum.

Contents:

Contents
Foreword by Tony Attwood
Introduction
1The Wanderer
2School Daze
3Curiouser and Curiouser
4Wired for Wonder
5A Gaze Returned
6A Turn for the Worst
7'It's a Living'
8The Old Country
9A Fork in the Road
10Paris
11The Monastery
12Mirages and Minarets
13Homecoming
14A Cautionary Tale
15Like Mother, Like son
16My Brilliant Career
17Buyer Beware!
18The Prawns of Fate
19'Physician, Heal Thyself'
Epilogue - Full Circle
Bibliography
Websites