Stars:4/5
Author: Jael McHenry
Subjects: Family, Loss, Death, Asperger's Syndrome, Cooking, Coping, Ghosts
ISBN: 978-1-4391-9169-9
Copyright Year: 2011
Other Comments:
This is a heartfelt story about a young college graduate with an undiagnosed case of Asperger's Syndrome and her attempt to cope in a world filled with grief. The story begins at her parents funeral, the people that sheltered her from all of the problems in her life as well as the world. She did not have a problem or anything wrong with her, she had a "personality" and her own definition of what is normal. The story is about how she copes with the loss and learns how to assimilate into society and her own. Her coping mechanism is cooking. She is an amazing cook, and soon learns her cooking has the power to "call forth the ghost of any dead person whose dish she prepares" (McHenry). This is the way she learns of her past and then learns how to move past this and on with her life. I thought this book was easy to read and touched on some delicate topics very well.
According to WebMD:
ReplyDelete"Asperger's syndrome, also called Asperger's disorder, is a type of pervasive development disorder (PDD). PDDs are a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize with others, to communicate, and to use imagination.
Although Asperger's syndrome is similar in some ways to autism -- another, more severe type of PDD -- there are some important differences. Children with Asperger's syndrome typically function better than do those with autism. In addition, children with Asperger's syndrome generally have normal intelligence and near-normal language development, although they may develop problems communicating as they get older."
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/mental-health-aspergers-syndrome