Somebody Somewhere is the second book in Donna Williams’ four-part autobiographical series. Donna takes up her story in 1994, in a world where most people don’t yet have email or Internet and the undiagnosed adults on the Autistic Spectrum born in the 1960s and earlier still don’t know that others with the condition exist, often believing they are the only ones in the entire world.
After a life of abuse, domestic prostitution, homelessness and poverty, Donna Williams has made her way back to Australia and finally found the answer to ‘what kind of mad’ she is. The words of her childhood – deaf, psychotic, disturbed – now get swept aside with a formal diagnosis of autism as she stumbles upon and enters into therapy with an eccentric and innovative psychologist, Theo Marek. They try to understand each other with astoundingly different language, concepts, realities and ‘normality’, viewing each other as one might view an alien. Having finally discovered the population she has been kept from all her life, Donna develops a small town dream and determines, with her IQ of under 70, to become a teacher, and change and advance the world of developmental disabilities, special education and beyond.
Other titles available by Donna Williams
Somebody Somewhere
'Narrative therapy invites a fresh look at assumptions in the therapy culture, and on reading Martin Payne's account I instantly had a sense of being understood. I found this particularly refreshing, as so much that is written in the name of narrative therapy doesn't at all fit with my understanding of its philosophical, ethical and political considerations. He has succeeded in representing his own voice in this, which really makes for engaging reading and accessibility of these ideas' - Michael White. 'This is a fascinating and important book' -... More info
The Mindful Way through Anxiety: Break Free from Chronic Worry and Reclaim Your Life: You can't just "get over" anxiety. In fact, the very things most people do to try to feel better-avoiding feared situations, pushing worry out of mind- can only make the problem worse. Leading psychologists Susan M. Orsillo and Lizabeth Roemer present a powerful new alternative that can help you break free of anxiety by fundamentally changing how you relate to it. With clarity and compassion, this book describes clinically tested mindfulness practices specifically tailored for anxiety... More info
In this controversial book, psychologists Barry Duncan and Scott Miller, cofounders of the Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change, challenge the traditional focus on diagnosis, silver bullet techniques, and magic pills, exposing them as empirically bankrupt practices that only diminish the role of clients and hasten therapy's extinction. Instead, they advocate for the long-ignored but most crucial factor in therapeutic success-the innate resources of the client. Based on extensive clinical research and case studies, The Heroic Client not only shows how to harness the clients powers of regeneration to... More info
