Nobody Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl

194 Pages·2008·0.75 MB·english

by  Williams Donna

nobody nowhere march19 3/20/08 7:18 AM Page 1
R E V I S E D E D I T I O N
Donna Williams was a child with more
labels than a jam-jar: deaf, wild, disturbed, ‘An extraordinary personal journey...Ms Williams N
maps a territory that has seemed the most
stupid, insane… She lived within herself,
impenetrable of all... A fascinating testimonial O
her own world her foreground, ours a to an intelligence undimmed by mental turmoil.’
background she only visited. Isolated from –Daniel Goleman, The New York Times Book Review B
N o b o d y
her self and from the outside world, Donna ‘An astounding book...by a woman who has O
was, in her words, a Nobody Nowhere. revealed a mysterious world to millions of others.’
D
–Peter Jennings, ABC World News Tonight
She swung violently between these two
‘As brave a book as you’ll ever read.’ Y
worlds, battling to join our world and,
–Los Angeles Times Book Review
simultaneously, to keep it out. Unable to
‘By turns fascinating and harrowing...a riveting N
connect with the external world beyond
autobiography.’
stored scripts and repertoires, she lived O
–People Magazine
as a ghost with a body, a patchwork of the
‘Beautifully written. It left me with a sense of W
social images which bombarded her.Intact wonder at the resilience and grace of the human
but detached from the seemingly incom- spirit.’ H
–Anne Deveson, Sydney Morning Herald
prehensible world around her, she lived
E
in what she called ‘a world under glass’. ‘This book is absorbing, disturbing, enriching and
R
it will cause many to revise substantially their
Nobody Nowhere is disturbing, elo-
views of what it is that constitutes psychological E
quent and ticklishly funny: it is an account normality.’
of the soul of someone who lived the word –Professor Anthony Clare
‘autism’ and survived in an unsympathetic ‘Remarkable...an eloquent, disturbing account of
environment despite intense inner chaos harrowing transition from severely withdrawn
D
autistic child to college-educated writer.’
and incomprehension. It describes how,
–Boston Globe O
against the odds, Donna came to live inde-
N The Remarkable Autobiography
pendently,achieve a place at university, and write this remarkable autobiography.
N
Now an international bestseller sold in over twenty languages throughout the world,
A
this book will stay with you as one of the most exceptional works you will ever read. of an Autistic Girl
W
Donna Williamswas born in Australia in 1963. She was assessed at age two as psychotic, labelled disturbed and tested
N o w h e r e
for deafness throughout childhood before being diagnosed as autistic in 1990. Today she is an internationally best- I
L
selling author with nine published books, an artist, singer-songwriter and emerging screenwriter.One of the most well-
known people with autism in the world, Donna is a renowned international public speaker, a qualified teacher and has L
worked as an autism consultant since 1995. I
A
M
S
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
116 Pentonville Road
ISBN 978-1-85302-7185
London N1 9JB, UK
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA19106, USA
D O N N A W I L L I A M S
www.jkp.com
9 781853 027185
Cover design: Black Dog Design

Nobody Nowhere
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Nobody Nowhere
The Remarkable Autobiography
of an Autistic Girl
Donna Williams
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
GratefulacknowledgementismadetoFaberandFaberLtdforpermissiontoreprinttwo
linesfrom‘EastCoker’inFourQuartetsbyT.S.Eliot.Copyright©1943byT.S.Eliotand
renewedin1971byEsméValerieEliot.ReprintedbypermissionofFaberandFaberLtd.
Firstpublishedin1992byDoubleday
Thiseditionpublishedin1999
byJessicaKingsleyPublishers
73CollierStreet
LondonN19BE,UK
and
400MarketStreet,Suite400
Philadelphia,PA19106,USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright©DonnaWilliams1992and1999
TherightofDonnaWilliamstobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhasbeen
assertedbyherinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedinanymaterial
form(includingphotocopyingorstoringitinanymediumbyelectronicmeansand
whetherornottransientlyorincidentallytosomeotheruseofthispublication)
withoutthewrittenpermissionofthecopyrightownerexceptinaccordancewiththe
provisionsoftheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988orunderthetermsofa
licenceissuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgencyLtd,SaffronHouse,6–10Kirby
Street,LondonEC1N8TS.Applicationsforthecopyrightowner’swrittenpermission
toreproduceanypartofthispublicationshouldbeaddressedtothepublisher.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Williams,Donna:NobodyNowhere–theremarkableautobiographyofan
autisticgirl1.Williams,Donna,1063–2.Autism–Patients–Biography
I.Title
616.8’982’0092
ISBN9781853027185
eISBN9780857005793
To Sharon, my grandparents, and the Lawries of
the world for simply being. Special thanks to
Dr Lawrie Bartak and the Morgans for helping
me to refine the lines of communication.
In a room without windows,
in the company of shadows,
You know they won’t forget you,
they’ll take you in.
Emotionally shattered,
don’t ask if it mattered,
Don’t let it upset you,
just start again.
In a world under glass,
you can watch the world pass,
And nobody can touch you,
you think you are safe.
But the wind can blow cold,
in the depths of your soul,
Where you think nothing can hurt you
till it is too late.
Run till you drop,
do you know how to stop?
All the people walk right past you,
you wave goodbye.
They all merely smiled,
for you looked like a child
Never thought that they’d upset you,
they saw you cry.
So take advice,
don’t question the experts.
Don’t think twice,
you just might listen,
Run and hide,
to the corners of your mind,
alone,
Like a nobody nowhere.
This is a story of two battles, a battle to keep out ‘the
world’ and a battle to join it. It tells of the battles
within ‘my own world’ and the battle-lines, tactics
used, and casualties of my private war against others.
This is my attempt at a truce, the conditions of which
are on my terms. I have, throughout my private war,
been a she, a you, a Donna, a me and finally an I.
All of us will tell it like it was and like it is.
If you sense distance, you’re not mistaken; it’s real.
Welcome to my world.