Somebody Somewhere [Import] [Paperback]

Donna Williams (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 277 pages
• Publisher: Corgi; New Ed edition (February 2, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552141984
• ISBN-13: 978-0552141987
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,207,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi,

Welcome, I'm Donna Williams.

Many people know me through the autism world but my books are read way beyond that field; people with all kinds of mental and emotional health issues, people from abusive backgrounds and in abusive relationships, students who have Nobody Nowhere as their high school text, people who stumbled on one of my biographical works and wrote that they suddenly changed their lives, even saved their lives, because of what they read, those who like wierdos and those who are fascinated by them and people who thought they were 'normal' and are left questioning whether such a beast really exists.

I know myself best as a compulsive creator. Whether its writing books or films, painting, sculpting, composing, gardening, a lot of my life revolves around creating. When I'm not creating I like being. When I'm not creating or being I'm usually giving. I don't have a lot of time for brooding or worrying because I enjoy crating, being and giving more so brooding and worrying only get to first base. If they want to get to second then I head them off one way or another.

I'm a sociologist and teacher, basically good fields for people who work with systems. My take on the world comes from being those things and an artist.

I'm totally into being equal. Heirachy isn't my thing. I'm one of those eccentrics for whom all people and animals and nature and objects are all equal and I live in a perceptual world in which all things are deemed possible. I struggle a lot with meaning-deafness and meaning-blindness but they are also blessings. There's nothing like relying on pattern, theme, feel for reminding us we are basically well trained ferals (and that training isn't always reliable or identified with).

I'm a Taoist. No, that's not a religion, its a philosophy. But it has a bearing on my feelings about religion and essentially everything. I believe that peace is the balanced acceptance of chaos and that we spend a lot of energy chasing myths that exist only in our internal worlds and getting upset when they don't exist larger than life forever and ever just for us out there in the external world. I believe in mini world in very simple things and that we have many selves not one, however much we might ignore all but the most shiny and convenient ones.

I'm silly, I'm complex, I'm a systematician and a human animal. I am committed not to ever take myself so seriously that I can't change. Freedom to change, adapt, improvise is like breathing and without it we stagnate and wonder why our 'perfection' got us into such a corner.

I've had plenty of labels; deaf, stupid, moron, spastic, psychotic, disturbed, autistic, but we are all far more than labels on a jam jar. Who cares about the packaging. I believe there is a 'me' even if I am always my self in the becoming of it.

I hope my books become friends to travel with, mirrors with which to better see yourself, adventures that broaden understanding of our species and bridges of equality between foreign realities.

Thanks for listening.

Warmly,

Donna Williams
www.donnawilliams.net

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be A prescribed Text ............, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Somebody Somewhere: Breaking Free from the World of Autism (Paperback)

Donna Williams book 'Somebody Somewhere' is one of those books that opens your mind - and makes you want to stand up and applaud human courage. My personal interests include psychology, child development, communication, extra sensory perception psychic ability, and Metaphysics. Donna Williams sharing of her 'world' inadvertently embraced all these subjects, and made me highly aware - not of 'differences' but of 'similarities'. Our human need to be understood, to be treated with dignity, and to be accepted in our individuality.

Donna Williams is truly an Expert on the world of Autism, way beyond the usual sets of clinical observations, and range of treatments designed to 'normalise'. We 'normals' do have to rethink the term 'dis-abled'!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars remarkable, November 24, 2005

By 

E. M. Bristol "bibliophile" (boston, mass) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Somebody Somewhere: Breaking Free from the World of Autism (Paperback)

Donna Williams was diagnosed with autism as an adult, after many misdiagnosises. In her past, she faced child abuse, homelessness and prostitution. Now, that she began to realize her problems had a definite basis, she began to do something about them. Although her behavior was considered "antisocial" and eccentric, her insight into the human condition is remarkable. She has worked as a teacher of special needs children, and received awards for her "do-goodness." In this book, she casts aside the "characters" and poses that have made up her world, and begins to relate to people as herself, not as how she imagined they would want her to. Eventually, she began to publish memoir, which was picked up and published internationally. Her triumphs both in the professional and personal spheres will have you cheering, as she fights to master autism. "I will not let it control me" she writes, and she hasn't.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn from one who knows, September 4, 2005

By 

Sharon Mitchell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Somebody Somewhere: Breaking Free From The World Of Autism (Paperback)

There are many books written about autism. While we can learn from researchers and professionals, we gain a whole new perspective when we listen to someone who has autism describe what it's like. Donna Williams is a bright, articulate young woman who freely shares insight into what it's like to live in the world of autism.