My Thirteenth Winter: A Memoir

I think this memoir was so well written I dont know what to say. The way she describes everything- I can see myself in a few chapters as she struggles with those panic attacks. I suffer the same ones, day and night worrying, and how she described them, its perfect. That book really had an impact on me. It gives people that are at their lowest, hope to keep going to find the light in the dark, whether they have a learning disorder or an anxiety one.

To be honest, I read this book, not only for its contents, but for its AR points. (It's one of the few newly printed books that's actually at seventh grade level). But it was something that was so much more than a helpful book school-wise; it's a very deep and lovely book. Samantha Abeel, who is twenty-five at the start of this memoir, goes as far back as she can into her mind, into a place where she once had no problems in school -kindergarten. She is instantly reconized for her large vocubulary (she actually said the word 'pnuemonia' as one of the words for the letter 'N', which, although is incorrect, is still remarkable), and her creative ideas. But soon, though, as the level of difficulty for subjects, particulary math, increases, she finds that she can not grasp simple things, like telling time and fractions. She also is crippled in the area of the parts of English and spelling, but not as bad as math. She goes through her life in elementary school, masking her slowness for math and English for her other, better grades in other subjects. From the moment in kindergarten she says 'pnuemonia', the other kids label her as smart, and they do not notice her problems. Her constant awareness that people might discover her act make her seculded and nervous, starting her anxiety attacks. All of her world falls apart and then reassembles during her thirteenth winter. We then see how she learns that she has a learning disabilty called dyscalculia, a learning disablity that only effects her math skills and anything related to it. We see how someone, who has gone through somuch, can escape through writing and make such an elegant and wonderful book. My brother has an unnamed learning disablity, and, like Sam said, everyone knows someone that has a learning disablity. It really helped me see how some people see the world. I'd recommed this book in a heartbeat.

This book is an absolute must-read for teachers, parents, and kids with learning disabilities (LD) and other special needs. Beautifully written, honest and very open about what life is like for a child with learning disabilities. This is especially important reading for those who don't understand that a child can be both intellectually gifted and LD, and that no one is "too smart" to have a learning disability.As someone who works with families of gifted/special needs children, I will be recommending this book widely.

Samantha Abeel's story is a memoir with reads with all the smoothness, drama and pointed observations of a novel. Her math-related learning disability sets her apart from others and until she is diagnosed in 7th grade, her life is one big struggle. My Thirteenth Winter is a very fine autobiography of courage and frustration.

Samatha Abeel's autobiography should be read by every parent of a learning disabled child and by every teacher who has learning disabled children in the classroom. As an elementary student, Samatha excelled in language and social studies, but she also had a harrowing secret: she could not understand or do the math her classmates did-she could not even tell time! It is not until she is thirteen that Samatha is finally diagnosed with dyscalculia, a math related learning disability. The book covers both Samatha's triumphs like working with artist Charles Murphy to produce "Reach for the Moon" and her difficulty dealing with the outside world where most people do not understand how her dyscalculia shows itself in her daily life. This is the story of her persistence and her ultimate sucess. For as Samatha writes,"...we are stronger than we think we are." I highly recommend this story of a courageous young woman and her struggle to deal with her disablility.