Being Normal by Stephen Shieber

"Being Normal" is an examination of loneliness, rejection and the idiosyncrasies of living in and against contemporary society. Stephen Shieber brings together the glory of everyday nothingness and elevates it to great drama; where loveless marriage, teen angst, childhood misadventure, lonely Christmases and family dysfunction are the norm. Each character in this stunning debut provides a very different slant on the notion of mundane - a book for anyone who has ever found themselves on the outside, dancing to the beat of their own drum.”

www.leavingtheroomwithdignity.blogspot.com

From Zaftig to Aspie by DJ Kirkby

Growing up in Canada in the 1960’s, DJ Kirby experienced a life that many of us would have taken for granted. Living in and around Canada, Kirby lived with her hippie mother and followed her mother wherever her whims took her.

Living with hippies, Kirby was exposed to a world that was all around us but only few seemed able to see it. She lived with people who “recreated the rules”, who lived their own lives and shaped their own existence.

And what an existence it is.

From a young age, Kirby knew she was different. She had a different way of looking at the world that had nothing to do with her hippie lifestyle and upbringing. She knew inside of herself that she was different than everyone else around her.

But there were no words to describe her condition, no words to explain what she felt inside of her.

Those words, those powerful words that would put her entire life into perspective, would not come until she was forty years old when she was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

www.djkirkby.blogspot.com