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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully warm! An eye-opener ...,
By
This review is from: Joys and Sorrows of Living with Adult Autism (Paperback)
Big Bertha Evans sheds a new light on autism in this book about her husband, Brian. It is written in simple terms - I got the distinct impression Big Bertha is one of those people who writes precisely as she speaks. Thanks to the photo on the back of the book, I had a good mental image of the author, and could imagine her simply sitting at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee, pouring out her heart regarding the ups and downs of life with the husband she so obviously adores.
Many people are familiar with autism only at its lowest functioning level, if at all. There are, however, autistic people who carry on somewhat normal lives - holding down jobs, having families, and appearing at first glance to be healthy adults. They are "high-functioning" autistics. Only upon close interaction with the individual is it obvious that they have a problem. Such is the case with Brian Evans. He looks normal. He's intelligent. He has a wife, and until a physical disability prevented it, he attempted to hold down a job - several of them - even though learning new things was difficult and frustrating for him. He has an extreme intolerance for pain, and Bertha's accounts of his experiences with nurses and doctors who did not understand what they were dealing with is heartbreaking. Brian needs the same assurance a child would when undergoing any kind of medical procedure, in particular anything requiring a needle. While it doesn't come naturally for medical personnel to extend the same empathy to a big, apparently strong and healthy man that they would to a little boy, that is exactly what Brian requires. In many ways, he has the mind of a very small child. His deep-seated need for someone to hold his hand, stroke his head and/or give him a hug has caused the couple many problems, especially where female medical personnel are concerned. Joys and Sorrows of Living with Adult Autism is an eye-opener; a tear-jerker; a heartbreaker. Yet it is a sweet account of two people who love each other, and enjoy life. From camping trips to walking trails, from shopping at free stores and dollar stores to decorating for Christmas year round, Bertha and Brian's lives manifest their devotion to one another and to God. No one, having read this book, will ever again look at autism in the same way.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A magnificent story by Bertha Evans,
By Oikins (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Joys and Sorrows of Living with Adult Autism (Paperback)
Bertha Evans' Joys and Sorrows of Living with Adult Autism made me realize how much of life's everyday gifts that we take for granted. Bertha and her husband Brian have a big heart for making life pleasurable for themselves despite the deprivations they have been handed by nature and circumstances. Brian's early encounters with the girls and boys that badly teased him would ring a bell to most men in terms of their early growing up periods - except that in Brian's case, these were directed to someone who is autistic. It is really sad to read about the unpleasant treatments that Brian received from some of the nurses - the nurses who were unsympathetic to his fear of needles. It takes someone who has a nurse as a relative to full appreciate the part that TLC (tender loving care) plays in helping patients cope with their ordeals.
All in all, I found this book very fascinating. I gave it 5 stars for a story very well told and I highly recommend it as a story that the world needs to hear about - especially for those who think they have had it all bad in life. Jim Ojiaku Surviving the Iron Curtain: A Microscopic View of What Life Was Like Inside a War-Torn Region
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartwarming Story,
By
This review is from: Joys and Sorrows of Living with Adult Autism (Paperback)
You will be instantly drawn into this heartwarming story by Big Bertha Evans about her life with her husband, Brian. It has opened my eyes to how special an autistic person is and how they need to be treated. The love and faith experienced by this special couple is inspiring, in spite of all the problems they each have faced in their lives. Everyone can benefit from reading this book, and especially all nurses and those in medical school should read it to help them understand the best way to relate to an autistic person. It can make a tremendous difference in that person's life when shown love, gentleness and compassion, as one would give to a small child. You will feel so much sadness for Brian in his mistreatment by those who don't understand, and also great joy in those who do take the time to care for him with empathy, especially his loving wife. This is a story you won't want to miss reading.
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