Nine Minds
Inner Lives on the Spectrum
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times–bestselling author of Born on a Blue Day and Thinking in Numbers, this poignant, perspective-altering book celebrates the power and beauty of the neurodivergent mind, as told through the true stories of nine contemporary men and women on the autism spectrum.
“Tammet’s exquisite portraits remind us that the variety of brains is every bit as essential as any other form of diversity.”—Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree
Exploding the tired stereotypes of autism, Daniel Tammet—acclaimed author and an autistic savant himself—draws out the inner worlds of nine extraordinary, neurodivergent lives from around the globe. A nonverbal man from Boston explores body language, gesture by eloquent gesture, in his mother’s yoga classes. A Japanese researcher in psychology sets out to measure loneliness while drawing on her own experience of autism. From a Fields Medal–winning mathematician to a homicide detective, a pioneering surgeon to a bestselling novelist, each is remarkable in their field, and each is changing how the world sees those on the spectrum.
Telling stories as richly diverse as the spectrum itself, this perspective-altering, life-affirming work of narrative nonfiction celebrates the power and beauty of the neurodivergent mind—and the daring freedom with which these individuals have built their lives.
#1 Bestseller in Autism
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Memoirist and essayist Tammet (Thinking in Numbers) sheds fresh light on autism in these vivid profiles of nine people with the condition. Some subjects dismantle neurotypical assumptions, like Japanese researcher Kana, who recounts her own studies and feelings of isolation in college to prove that autistic people do experience loneliness (often stemming from attempts to "conform to neurotypical social behaviors," she finds). Exploring how autism affects self-expression, Tammet notes how Cédric Villani channeled "his passion for order and harmony, for taming an unruly world" into becoming a mathematician and then a politician, and how despite being deemed "noncommunicative" as a child, Billy Megargel was gradually able to make himself understood using speech enhancement devices. Tammet captures the unique modes of autistic thought with sensitivity and lyrical flair. Billy's "inarticulacy," for example, derives not from "any lack of intelligence or curiosity" but from an "inner world that is pictorial, musical," and filled with "the many meanings he is able to find in shape, colour, motion, tone and rhythm. Chess players, those with a facility for the game, access their own inner world—the chequered board and its pieces—somewhat like this." Throughout, Tammet remains clear-eyed about the systemic challenges autistic people face in a neurotypical society. The result is an intimate and illuminating glimpse into the neurodivergent mind.
