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Cover of Nobody Nowhere by Donna Williams

Nobody Nowhere

  • 219 pages · about 4 hours
  • First published 1992
  • 19 editions

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1 About this book

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 She lived in a dreamlike state, withdrawn, viewing her incomprehensible surroundings from the security of a "world under glass," parroting the voices of those around her in the hope that they would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."

Good for readers who want: a true life story and mental health.

  • Biography
  • Mental health
  • Women, united states
  • Autism
  • Patients
  • Autistic Disorder

2 About Donna Williams

1963–2017

Donna Leanne Williams (born Donna Keene; 12 October 1963 – 22 April 2017), also known by her married name Donna Leanne Samuel and as Polly Samuel, was an Australian writer, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, and sculptor. In 1965, aged two, Williams was assessed as "psychotic". During the rest of her childhood, she was tested multiple times for deafness and labelled as "disturbed".

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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