The Mind Tree: A Miraculous Child Breaks The Silence Of Autism [Hardcover]

Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay (Author)

Book Description

Once in a great while, a special person emerges in the history of science and medicine whose unique set of characteristics sheds light on an entire disorder and sometimes even on the mysteries of the human brain. Tito is such a person. Although he is severely autistic and nearly nonverbal, his ability to communicate through his extraordinary writing is astonishing. At the age of three, Tito was diagnosed with severe autism, but his mother, with boundless hope and determination, read to him and taught him to write in English. She also challenged him to write his own stories. The result of their efforts is this remarkable book-written when he was 8 to 11 years old-comprising profound and startling philosophical prose and poetry. His beautifully crafted language reveals how it feels to be locked inside an autistic body and mind. THE MIND TREE is the work of an artist. With each page, Tito bursts through his silence into a world of art, beauty and hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Now 15 years old, the Bengali boy known as "Tito" wrote the texts collected in this book between the ages of eight and 11. That fact would be remarkable in itself, given their exquisite beauty and concision in describing the world of their author ("the cobweb of uncertainty remained"), but Tito's severe autism, diagnosed when he was three, makes them little short of miraculous. Tito's mother Soma taught him to write in Bengali and in English by working with him intensively over years. While there have been skeptics of Tito's writing ability (as documented in 60 Minutes and Good Morning America features), the experience of reading the book together with testimony from psychiatrist Lorna Wing convinces that Tito wrote it himself. It documents, with patient and poetic clarity, the experience of not fitting in, of finding the world beautiful, of having trouble making oneself understood-in short, of life as most people experience it.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“This book is indeed amazing, shocking too…and forces us to reconsider the condition of the deeply autistic.” (Dr. Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; 1 edition (October 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559706996
• ISBN-13: 978-1559706995
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book, October 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mind Tree: A Miraculous Child Breaks The Silence Of Autism (Hardcover)

I found this book absolutely fascinating. For a severely austistic child to be able to write and voice his thoughts is an incredible feat. All the hype behind it is very appropriate-this is a book that should have exactly that sort of exposure. Tito allowed his writings to be published, not only so they could be shared with the general public but also to raise awareness about autism. A severely austic child is clearly not a helpless case as many people before believed and if there are other books out there like this one, perhaps The Mind Tree will help bring attention to them.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, August 3, 2007

By 

BK (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mind Tree: A Miraculous Child Breaks The Silence Of Autism (Hardcover)

I give this book 5 stars!

From the moment that my son was diagnosed as Autistic, I searched for books that are written by Autistic individuals because I wanted better insight and there's no better insight than from the one who walks the path themselves. Tito not only gave great insight, he amazed me with the most beautiful poetry that I have ever had the priviledge of reading.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly an amazing book!, March 2, 2007

By 

Lisa Helt - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mind Tree: A Miraculous Child Breaks The Silence Of Autism (Hardcover)

I have read this book 4 times, bought 7 copies to send to all my family. I have a non-verbal child with autism and this book has given me insights into what his life is like. It is so inspiring you can not put it down! Tito is such an articulate writer that I sometimes need to re-read his book to catch all the different meanings his words have said. Actually some of his poetry reminds me of great prophets in the Bible, that need to be studied, considered at every angle, and deeply absorbed. Thank you Tito for all your inspiration! Keep it up!