Paperback: £13.99 / $17.95
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2007, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 224pp
ISBN: 978-1-84310-859-7, BIC 2: JFFG
"At Home in the Land of Oz tells the story of a family striving to keep a perilous balance while nurturing an autistic member. It is first of all just that, a story filled with suspense, humor, empathy, frustration, triumph and heartbreak. Anne Barnhill writes economically, cleanly, and frankly and her words will go to the heart of every reader. From her pages I learned that endurance can be the most important component of courage. And I learned in a most entertaining way."
- Fred Chappell, Bollingen Prize-winning author of I Am One of You Forever
" …a story that deserves a far brighter and higher billing than the kind of easy, happy, feel good non-fiction that often tops best-seller lists. This is because her story deals with those quiet heroics that many families and individuals face while they hide away in pain and misunderstanding. In facing autism full on, Ms. Barnhill has demonstrated how humans can love each other in unspeakable ways, learning languages as well as contours of certain rooms of the heart that some of us are never fortunate enough to know."
- Clyde Edgerton, professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and author of Walking Across Egypt
"In this book about crossing barriers and making connections, Anne Barnhill gives us a vivid and wrenching account of her sister's struggle with autism. It is a story of kinship, intimacy and affection, and one of the barriers it breaks through is with the reader, connecting us with the pain and victories of a life, a family."
- Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek
Anne's sister Becky was born in 1958, long before most people had even heard of autism. Diagnosed with "emotional disturbance," Becky was subjected for much of her childhood to well-meaning but futile efforts at "rehabilitation" or "cure," as well as prolonged spells in institutions away from her family.
Painting a vivid picture of growing up in small-town America during the Sixties, Anne describes her sister's and her own painful childhood experiences with compassion and honesty. Struggling with the separation from her sister and the emotional and financial hardships the family experienced as a result of Becky's condition, Anne nevertheless found that her sister had something that "normal" people were unable to offer. Today she is accepting of her sister's autism and the impact, both painful and positive, it has had on both their lives.
This bittersweet memoir will resonate with families affected by autism and other developmental disorders and will appeal to everyone interested in the condition.
