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9781742702582

Boomer and Me

A memoir of motherhood, and Asperger's

Jo Case

Me: 'Are you going to be a good boy this year?'
Boomer: 'Uh huh. I have no interest in toilet humour.'
Me: 'You don't?'
Boomer: 'No. No interest at all. I mean, I think "it's funny" when, in The Bad Book, Terence takes off all his clothes. And when Horrid Henry shows his undies. But I would think to myself, "That is something I should not do".'

Between juggling work, joint custody and the ordinary demands of motherhood, Jo tries to work out why her son Leo (aka Boomer) is finding it hard to fit in. His wit wins him friends, but the rituals of friendship - like learning to compromise - are proving challenging. Is it because he's an only child? Could he be gifted?

When Leo is diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, Jo fears what it means - and sees herself, and her family, through new eyes. Trapped in a cycle of doubt and discovery, she wonders how you can stay true to who you are and fit in. What the hell is 'normal' anyway?

This is the bittersweet story of a twenty-first-century family, and why being different isn't a disability - it just takes some getting used to.

$24.95

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Jo Case is an Adelaide-based writer, editor and bookseller. Her first book, Boomer and Me: A memoir of motherhood, and Asperger's (2013) was shortlisted for the inaugural Russell Prize for Humour Writing. Her personal essays have been published in the anthologies Mothermorphosis (MUP, 2015) and Rebellious Daughters (Ventura Press, 2016). She is a former deputy editor of Australian Book Review, books editor of the Big Issue and associate editor of Kill Your Darlings. She reviews regularly for the Age/Sydney Morning Herald and has reviewed for the Australian and the Monthly. She is a former program manager of Melbourne Writers Festival and was a founding board member of the Stella Prize and co-founder of Feminist Writers Festival. These days, she works at publisher Wakefield Press and at Imprints.

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ISBN   9781742702582
CATEGORY   
PAGE COUNT   320
DIMENSIONS   210 x 135 mm