Strange Son, Portia Iversen
Strange Son, Portia Iversen
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Strange Son
Two Mothers, Two Sons, and the Quest to Unlock the Hidden World of Autism

Author: Portia Iversen

Narrator: Jane Kaczmarek

Abridged: 5 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/28/2006


Synopsis

The uplifting true story of two mothers from opposite sides of the world united to help their sons.

Portia Iversen's life was turned upside down when her two-year-old son Dov was diagnosed with autism. Desperate to find a treatment, Portia was shocked to learn that almost nothing was known about the disorder, which only a handful of researchers were studying.

When Portia heard of a severely autistic nonverbal boy in India whose mother had taught him to read and write, she arranged for mother and son to visit the United States to help researchers understand what can be learned from their success. Soma Mukhopadhyay's achievement was truly astonishing: not only could her son Tito communicate, but he had an IQ of 185 and wrote beautiful poetry. Her revolutionary teaching method allowed Tito to explain the startling differences in his sensory perception, offering scientists an unrivaled window into the autistic mind.

Part memoir, part detective story, Strange Son is the captivating account of these families' extraordinary journeys, an inspiring tale of the power of two mothers' determination to find hope where there was once only despair.

About Portia Iversen

Portia Iversen, an Emmy-winning art director (for The Tracey Ullman Show), has been a vigorous proponent of autism research since her son Dov was diagnosed with the condition in 1994. Together with her husband, Jon Shestack, she established the Cure Autism Now Foundation (CAN), one of the largest nongovernmental funding resources for autism research worldwide. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their three children.

About Jane Kaczmarek

Jane Kaczmarek's television credits include Help Me Help You, Malcolm in the Middle, Felicity, Party of Five, and Frasier. Her film credits include Pleasantville, Vice Versa, DOA, and Falling in Love. Theater credits include Kindertransport (Ovation Award), Raised in Captivity (LA Drama Critics Award), Dinner With Friends, and Lost in Yonkers.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Katie_marie on December 29, 2008

There should be a caveat given before reading this book: this will not be easy to believe. If what this memoir written by a mother of a child with autism claims is true, there is so much to be done. Portia Iverson is obsessed with learning as much as she can about her son's Autism, sets up a foundat......more

Goodreads review by Kaylin on June 05, 2021

This book is one of the most phenomenal on nonverbal autistic people. One woman’s work with her own son, leading to no change on the outside but an outpouring of poetry on the part of the child, has lead to transformation of the understanding of what autism is and how intelligent they really are. Th......more

Goodreads review by Kevin on May 03, 2019

A phenomenal book, showing pure honesty in the face of adversity. Reading this book gives me courage myself. Unfortunately, some reviews attempt to punish Iversen for her honesty, but I think it is what makes this book beautiful.......more

Goodreads review by Readyourselfhealthy on October 08, 2011

This is a complicated book to review because I have so many conflicting feelings about it. It is absolutely a must read however, for understanding autism. You can learn more in just this book that anywhere else. Iversen, the mother of an autistic son, starts the foundation Cure Autism Now (now merge......more

Goodreads review by Thais on November 06, 2012

Mi ha colpita molto il fatto che si parli relativamente poco del figlio autistico dell'autrice. Oltre a essere un saggio sull'autismo e sulle sue implicazioni neurologiche, il libro si concentra su Tito, un ragazzino autistico indiano che rivoluziona ogni idea sul misterioso mondo dell'autismo. Tito......more