Thorn in My Pocket. Temple Grandin's Mother Tells the Family Story

Customer Reviews

Not a true family story

2005-08-27
This book was a dissapointment to me. I know that her other children didn't want to be mentioned in this book, but even if they had been mentioned Im not sure it would have mattered. This is not a story about Temple or her family. It is however a book about Temples mom and her life, not necessarily her life involving anyone else. She is a priviledged woman who isn't too in touch with anyone but herself. After reading the inside cover I was hopeful that this book was exactly what I was looking for, but I was misled. The book is nothing like the cover's brief insight into life, but more like a bunch of similies and metaphors stuffed together in random order. It seemed sometimes as if she couldn't complete a thought or even a short story about Temple with out rambling on like some theater major putting on an over the top monologue. "A chink, I think I found a chink!" If you can get through all these ramblings you may find one complete thought that could potentially be helpful. I didn't however.
I have 2 autistic children and they are not nearly as functional as Temple but since I was so inspired by Temples writing I was hoping for so much more from this, her mothers, biography. I'm not saying Ms. Cutler shouldn't talk about herself at all, but if this book was truly supposed to give us all a look into Temple's life and family, Ms. Cutler needs to remember the phrase I repeat to myself daily "This isn't about you anymore, its about your children."
My mother just met with Temple and her mother yesterday and they are exactly like their books. Temple, a down to earth sweet loving lady and her mother still a high society lady who vacations at Martha's Vineyard and always talks like she is performing on a stage. There needs to be a book written by an average parent of an autistic child, or children, that had to struggle with money and with the schools and can still remember these struggles. Maybe I will write one :)

Inspirational story

2005-08-21
This was an excellent read and made more inspirational when one realises the challenges Temple's mother had within her marriage. Great to also read about Temple's recovery through hard work and more moving because this was over 50 years ago. Would highly recommend this book.

One Mother to Another

2005-07-19
I am also the parent of a child with autism and have endured some of the same struggles as Eustacia Cutler. I applaud her for sharing those struggles with the rest of us, making us realize that we are not alone. This is a very informative book about the mysteries of autism, providing lots of information not readily available to the rest of us. I think it is a "must read" for those of us with autism in our family and to give some understanding to the rest of the world.

A bit disappointing.

2005-04-19
I'm afraid I found this book a bit disappointing. The good parts were the author's fairly brief decriptions of Temple Grandin's behavior and her own experiences in raising her. I felt that surely there had to have been more information than she provided as this seemed quite a superficial treatment to me. I understand why she left out any references to her other children at their request, but do think that this is an important lack in a book professing to present the life of a family with an autistic child.

I found myself skipping over the long parts detailing her singing career. There was quite a bit about her first marriage. Her ex-husband attempted to convince others that she was crazy by keeping a 3-year "diary" on her supposedly abnormal behavior. There seemed to be almost an insouciant attitude about such clearly bizarre behavior. There were some interesting details about life back in the day, for example, the bit about receiving a total of 6 phone calls in the several months following her divorce. I'm sure that her experiences were much more painful than she expressed.

I have no doubt that the author was an excellent mother to her daughter and found her the appropriate help and places for her to grow and develop into the quite amazing person she is today. It's not a bad book. I guess I just expected something with more detail, more emotion, more information, more... something.

Inspriing!

2005-02-26
Thorn in My Pocket: Temple Grandin's Mother Tells the Family Story is a very inspring book.

It is meaningful to all.

a few excellent bits -

2008-05-27
a few excellent pages on parent dealing with autism.. then becomes a generic life story

A Thorn In My Pocket

2008-01-22
This book is a well written book that is easy to read but renders great information on Aspergers. it reads like a novel but is a true story of Temple Gradin and her Mother. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in this area but it is a gift to parents who are dealing with raising a child with Autism in general and Aspergers specifically. As a teacher Temple helped me to understand this atypical world and her mother touches me with her story and the impact on her life.

same as all others

2007-04-05
I have read several books on families that have a least 1 child that is autistic and this is no different. The only thing, i found interesting is that this mother seemed to be more invovled with her child and encourged her then just pushing away.

Good

2006-11-03
I like this book. It is extremely well written and expressed. I love reading life stories and hers is brilliant. You can pictures her words in your mind. Thoroughly recommended.

asperger's de-mystified

2006-11-03
This author was constrained in her telling of the 'family story' by an embargo from her adult children who requested that their stories be largely omitted. However, as the main character was her daughter 'Temple'she still managed to impart interesting facts and portrayed the difficulties and some triumphs as she struggled with her unusual daughter and the strains the situations placed on her (Eustacia's) marriage. As a project worker involved in supporting families of school aged children with autism, I found it interesting and valuable as well as a good story in it's own right.