Just This Side of Normal: Glimpses Into Life with Autism

With this book, JUST THIS SIDE OF NORMAL, Elizabeth King Gerlach has balanced her already highly respected reputation as an author (see her ESSENTAL research book: AUTISM TREATMENT GUIDE--and buy it too! ), with a more personal but no less valuable contribution to the field of literature on autism. Autism, the disorder confounding to doctors, educational professionals and parents alike, deserves to be confronted and thought about in a variety of ways. In this book, Ms. Gerlach takes her own experiences as the mother of an autistic child and expands our understanding, in a very personal way, of the trials, the confusions, and the small triumphs that confront a parent of an exceptional child like her son, Nicky. You will not put this book down until you have read it cover to cover, I guarantee it. I have lent out this book so many times over it's absurd! Each time I have been stunned by the profound reactions of the people I have leant it to, whether they are special ed. teachers, just friends, professional writers such as Ms Gerlach herself, or parents of autistic children, like me. It reaches everyone. Ms. Gerlach's love of nature, life, and her child shine through on every page. Get this book. You will not regret it. It is beautifully honest and you will be moved. Absolutely one of my favorites in my personal library of books on autism.best wishes, Jean

Just This Side of Normal is so compelling that you find you must read it all in one sitting, and then go back and read it again. The book's organization, vignettes which are loosely chronological, keeps the pace lively. A powerful story about love and struggle, it's told with tenderness, humor, and great courage.

Many books are available that talk about the medical side of autism, but "Just This Side of Normal" puts it in perspective, as seen through the eyes of a devoted parent trying to understand her child's world. Elizabeth Gerlach's insights open up a window through which the reader can see not just the disorder, but the child. Highly recommended for parents, professionals, and others who want to understand people with autism more fully.

I cannot express how deeply affecting this book is. Any parent of a child with autism, any professional who deals with autistic children, will return to this book over and over again. A book of great depth, it spares us none of the pain that goes hand in hand with autism, and yet, ultimately, it is a book that follows a mother's struggle to raise her son with autism with both hope and with a profound respect. Respect for the beauty of life in all its wonder, in all its diversity, in the grace we find when we choose to hang in there and love. I have two autistic sons of my own and I couldn't ever find a book more beautifully written, more expressive of the feelings I have had, one time or another. You must read this book! No matter what your situation is, you will be moved--guaranteed. It's one of a kind.

As parents of an autistic child, we constantly read a great number of informative books on the disorder, always looking for links which will unearth the current "magic bullet" to help rescue our son from his oft-times lonely world. When our child was initially diagnosed as being within the autistic spectrum, we were given Elizabeth K. Gerlach's first book, "The Autism Treatment Guide" by our Regional Center. We realized that here was an author who had "been there... done that," and that her mentoring would be important... possibly the best overall examination of the many therapies available to help the autistic child. Since that time, we have ourselves given away more than a dozen copies of "The Autism Treatment Guide" to parents of the newly-diagnosed. It is still the single best guide in our rapidly expanding "autism library."Her latest book, "Just This Side of Normal," is not a book of available therapeutic modalities. It is its own therapy. As I read and re-read, I found myself identifying our own place in the world of autism with Ms. Gerlach's. Her often bittersweet, but always hopeful approach to the growth of her children, is a delightful anecdotal pilgrimage. As she relates her views of Nicky's ongoing steps into the everyday world, her words spark chords of our own unique journey, making the resonance universal, and, as with her first book, becoming enormously helpful.This is another book we'll surely pass on to new friends!