Nobody Nowhere

by Donna Williams

Labeled deaf, retarded, disturbed, and insane, Donna Williams lived in a world of her own. Alternating between rigid hostility and extroversion, she waged what she termed her war against "the world." She lived in a dreamlike state, withdrawn, viewing her incomprehensible surroundings from the security of a "world under glass," parroting the voices of those around her in the hope that they would leave her alone. Few people understood her, least of all Donna herself. She knew only that something was wrong with her, and she yearned to be "normal." It was not until three years ago, when Donna was twenty-five, that she discovered the word - autism - that would at last give her the opportunity to understand herself and to build a bridge to join the real world. Nobody Nowhere, Donna's extraordinary autobiography, is her attempt to come to terms with autism and is a vivid memoir of the titanic struggles she has endured in her quest to merge "my world" with "the world." The book takes readers o