Customer Reviews

Spinning straw: The Jeff Apple story

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Author Phyllis Green's almost irritatingly breathless prose guides us on the relentless journey with the Apple family. In the sixties, Jeff Apple's disability could not be found in text books. Spinning Straw is perhaps the only biography of an autistic child who is a severe self-injurer. From the age of two-and-a-half, Jeff Apple assaults his own body.

Autism is probably the third most common developmental disability. Over 500,000 individuals in the U.S. have some form of autism - identified as a communication disorder that makes it hard to communicate verbally or nonverbally with the outside world. Typical signs are repeated body movements, unusual responses to people or attachments to objects, a resistance to non routine environments, and sometimes, aggressive behavior or self-injurious behavior. [The latter is officially known as "SIB."]

An articulate wordsmith, Green, helps Mother Pat Apple share the family's heartache as Jeff's self-violent behavior gets worse. The Apple family becomes submerged into an unknown world, a world with little comprehension. We are inspired through the endurance and determination of the Apple family's everyday life.

Despite Jeff Apple's overpowering urge to self-destruct, he provides subsequent insight into the meaning of humanity. This true story stimulates readers to appreciate the true quality of life. In Spinning Straw, the writer delves into a human experience teaching us more about the human condition.

Art does not usually imitate life. We usually finish reading a book or viewing a movie and we feel disappointed in life, as though we've been cheated from the media's idea of dramatic, yet glamorous lives. We sometimes even draw in because the half-truths told by film and novels tell us we are odd and unacceptable when we or our circumstances aren't perfect.

"Spinning Straw" is different. It is cathartic because it tells the whole story of life. Some of the pictures Phyllis Green paints of Pat Apple's story of her son and family are so lovely you feel the depth of beauty the sun has when peering out of a cloudy sky. Other word pictures hurt your heart they are so sad. But what would life be without its ups and downs? "Spinning Straw" remembers that in order to truly feel we have to feel both pain and ecstatic joy. We do not get to pick one or the other. And I promise you, when you finish reading "Spinning Straw"-- and you will once you start it-- you will agree that life is worth the chance of sadness when happiness is allowed as well, as the story of little Jeff Apple is filled with both extremes.

In this book, the quality of the human spirit shows itself in it's mightiest face...that of unconditional love. Beautifully written, eloquent in it's reality, the author takes us right there. We are in the Apple's home & lives...we smell the bacon on that first day...& then we feel the first suspicions along with Jeff's mother. Ultimately, we feel the love, the hope, the frustration, the fear & sadly, the grief. We are there in the silent moments, the sunny moments, the despairing moments & the final moments. Our hearts go out to the Apples, their courage, fortitude & dignity...but most of all for their love. No parent should let this book pass them by, no parent who picks this book up will put it down, particularly any parents of special children. This book is for every caring human being, parent or not, as they will not, can not, walk away from it untouched .. or uninspired.
On a personal note, I was told I should read this book with with a box of tissues to hand. Being a person not much inclined to tears, I took that advice with a grain of salt. My mistake. The only salt around me when I read Spinning Straw was in my eyes & on my face, as it is at this moment recalling the book as I write this review. A "must read".
To Patricia Apple, a woman of indomitable courage & to Phyllis Green, who weaves words into pictures, all my respects.

SPINNING STRAW - The Jeff Apple Story - written by Phyllis J.D. Green, related by Patricia M. Apple, is an absorbing story of a child with Serious Injury Behavior. While many treatments are attempted and the unpredictable behavior of Jeff is recorded, the reader marvels at the patience of his parents and care givers and at their ability to keep on hoping something will work. Rumpelstiltskin, a funny looking little man, offered to help the miller's daughter spin straw into gold. In her desperation, she made a deal with him. Jeff Apple's family accepting help from every one that could give them hope of healing for Jeff were as desperate. They spun a lot of straw but never succeeded in spinning it into gold. They never knew more than temporary success. While his parents and kind therapists tried every possible means to teach him to refrain from self injury, Jeff continued to inflict pain and abuse to his person, sometimes injuring those trying to protect and care for him. The reader learns much about SIB and the character of those who seek to keep the sufferers safe from themselves. Such a sad story, Mrs. Green tells. She explains the day by day routines that sometimes worked and the reader became hopeful with the parents and therapists and feels the disappointment and frustration at failure. The reader identifies with the mother, who has to agree to dreadful things like electric shock, restraining sheet, cold showers. The reader knows the anguish and guilt Mrs. Apple felt in allowing her child to be so treated. And yet her desperation made it imperative that she accept these in a hope of saving Jeff from himself. Yes, Pat Apple had to make an awful deal, as the miller's daughter did. Well written, it is not a happy story. It is a epic story of the victory of the human spirit over dreadful circumstances to continue to love and hope. The title SPINNING STRAW is intriguing and apt.

- Sybil Austin Skakle

"Spinning Straw; the Jeff Apple Story," is one of those rare books that brought me to tears. I can't imagine being a parent of a child who could test the limits of love as Jeff Apple did. The family's plight in dealing with a child with Self Inflicted Behavior made me realize that problems my wife and I had in raising three children were insignificant in comparison with Jeff's demands on his parents and siblings. Phyllis Green does a superb job of telling that story through the eyes of"~ Jeff's mom."~ performance. Throughout the book, I felt the fear that the inevitable self-destructive event would take place, but I could almost not bear to accept it when Jeff's death occurred."~ determination. Nether extreme is ever suggested. What we have is a moving, real-life story, told in a manner that brings all of the reader's senses, emotions, and mental awareness into the process.

Green doesn't just tell the Jeff Apple story -- she seems to have lived right through every minute with the Apple family. Her honest portrayal of all that was endured by a family dealing with a little-known (or at least little-talked of) affliction will -- HAS -- finally opened doors for others in similar situations. While many readers may not be able to imagine life with Jeff Apple or someone else with self-injurious behavior, after reading Spinning Straw, most of us find it hard to imagine life without them.

Phyllis J.D. Green spins magic with her words. It is an incredible and touching story and I am thrilled that Paticia M. Apple's voice can be heard through the wonderful writing of the author. Accolades for a beautiful testimony of love and understand.

When you read Phyllis Green's book Spinning Straw about the short life of an autistic boy named Jeff Apple, you will see several photographs of him throughout his life. The photos ironically freeze a boy whose autistic body and life spun and punched and clawed its way so out of control that even the loving cacoon of his family could not swaddle the frenzy. Study the photos. They capture a kernel of the serene humanity denied him by his condition. Then when you reach for that coffee cup, imagine what it would be like for your arm to suddenly gain a life of its own and shatter the cup against the wall, against your will, splashing your family with scalding coffee. If you can imagine that, you can step outside the still photos and into Jeff Apple's chaotic life. Please read this book for all it's worth. It will reward you.

Spinning Straw made me laugh, wince, and cry. It is more than a story of autistic boy. It shows a family that happens to have a child with a serious handicap. It shows their ups and downs, the emotional roller coaster of raising a handicapped child. As a mother of an autistic child, I could feel for what this family went through. However, you don't have to have a handicapped child to be moved by this book. Any parent or anyone who knows children will be touched by this book. Spinning Straw pulls at the heart strings.

Spinning Straw... It's a great book. It's written as if you are living the experience. You really feel like you know the characters, especially Jeff! The book shows so much love and caring, it makes you want to do the same if you don't already. I recommend the book because it's jsut plan excellent!! you'll see as soon as you buy it! And the author, well she's great too! The best in the world; take it from someone that knows her personally. Great Book, way to go P. Green