A Place for Everything

Description

'Painful, raw and with an honesty that rings clear as a bell' Catherine Simpson, author of When I Had a Little Sister A searing account of a mother's late-diagnosis of autism - and its reaching effects on a whole family. Anna grew up in a house that was loving, even if her mum was 'a little eccentric'. They knew to keep things clean, to stay quiet, and to look the other way when things started to get 'a bit much for your mum'. It's only when her mother reaches her 70s, and Anna has a family of her own, that the cracks really start to appear. More manic. More irrational. More detached from the world. And when her father, the man who has calmed and cajoled her mother through her entire life is diagnosed with cancer, the whole world turns upside down. This is a story of a life lived with undiagnosed Aspergers, about the person behind the disorder, those big unspoken family truths, and what it means to care for our parents in their final years.

Anna Wilson read French and German at Cambridge University. She is a writer and went into a career in children's publishing.

'[A] vividly told and profoundly affecting memoir' The Bookseller 'A brilliant, searing account and I defy anyone not to be gripped by it.' Sally Magnusson 'I read A Place for Everything with my heart in my mouth, gripped by this howl of anguish about loving someone you cannot help. This is both a love story and a horror story; an unforgettable account of a daughter going into battle to try to save her mother and father, and the toll it took. Painful, raw and with an honesty that rings clear as a bell. This is a beautiful book and an important one.' Catherine Simpson, author of When I Had a Little Sister 'You don't have to have a connection to autism to find much to - enjoy perhaps isn't the right word - that you can relate to in this book because it's largely about the business of caring for your elderly parents when you are a woman who might have a whole shedload of other responsibilities.' Jane Garvey, Woman's Hour. 'The last decade of life is the new frontier for the diagnosis of autism - brought home to us in this captivating story.' Professor Tony Attwood, clinical psychologist 'A very moving read' My Weekly 'In this extraordinary memoir Anna tells the story of what it was like for her and her sister to be raised by a woman struggling with undiagnosed high-functioning autism. This is an important story filled with compassion, and one that I hope will be read by anyone who has endured a difficult relationship with either parent.' Isabel Losada, author of The Joyful Environmentalist '[Anna]'s book is one of the best memoirs I've read in a long time. I loved it. It's raw, honest, gripping . . . and very moving. The book will be helpful for people who have family members with undiagnosed autism.' James Cook, author of In Her Room - How Music Helped Me Connect with my Autistic Daughter