Reading this book was both overwhelming and rewarding, and I feel very grateful that I came across it. 

Barbara Moran's telling of her life is raw and honest with undeniable compassion for both her younger self and even those who had mistreated her. I hope people who are struggling to grasp how difficult it is to thrive in a world where your natural behaviors are condemned will also come across this book and allow it to change some of their perceptions. 

While most of what takes place in this account happened decades ago, I urge readers without autism to understand that occurrences of callousness and neglect towards autistic people are not a thing of the past. As I mentioned above, reading this book was personally rewarding for me because in my twenty years of life I've been through some of the same situations Barbara underwent. 

I also did not receive my diagnosis of autism until I was in my adulthood and had already suffered through years of medical malpractice and incidents that have left me with a distrust of doctors. There were times in my adolescence where I thought I wouldn't survive the mixture of isolation, agony and shame I was experiencing, but learning about Barbara's resilience and advancement during even worse occurrences allows me to feel that my future is less doomed. 

I'm incredibly thankful towards Barbara for allowing us to listen to her story, and for Karl Williams for recognizing the value of telling it. Hopefully future generations of autistic people will have little to relate to in this work, but until then candid and emotional outpourings like these can help heal the wounds our community sustained by those who could not perceive our worth.