Product Description

A powerful novel exploring the effects of autism on a young family from Marti Leimbach, author of the international bestseller 'Dying Young', who has experienced and dealt with the condition within her immediate family. My husband saw me at a party and decided he wanted to marry me. Melanie Marsh is an American living in London married to Stephen, the perfect Englishman, who knew the minute he saw her that she was to be his future. But when their youngest child is diagnosed with autism their marriage starts to unravel at great speed. Stephen runs back into the arms of his previous girlfriend while Melanie does everything in her power to help her son and keep her family together. And then one day Melanie hears about a man named Andy O'Connor, who calls himself a "play therapist" and has a client list so long she can barely get him on the phone. Some say he's a maverick and a con artist of the first degree, but when he walks into the house and starts playing with her child, Melanie knows she's found the key to her son's success, and possibly to her own happiness. 'Daniel Isn't Talking' is a passionate and darkly humorous novel that explores a mother's determination to help her child. A love story for grown ups, it somehow extends its wisdom far beyond the parameters of disability and into the substance of human nature itself. A tense, moving novel that will make you laugh out loud even as it breaks your heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39263 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'If you like fiction emphatic and passionate, you'll relish this!' Independent 'So heartfelt, realistic and informative!Leimbach vividly portrays both overwhelming maternal love and the ins and outs of autism!' Sunday Times 'One of the most enchanting and gripping books of the year!Leimbach knows how to engage her readers completely.' Daily Mail 'Tender, involving tale of a family in crisis.' Woman and Home 'Never bleak, this inspiring read sheds light on the often misunderstood condition.' The Works Magazine 'Powerful and moving, and also surprisingly funny. A love story in every sense.' Deborah Moggach 'I adored "Daniel isn't Talking." I was riveted, engrossed -- all those wonderful things one hopes for when opening a book. I thought her portrayal of a mother facing unbelievable hardships was very real and gripping.' Anita Shreve 'A sobering account of the exasperations of raising an autistic child, incredibly, Marti Leimbach manages to find hope.' Lionel Shriver 'Any parent will recognise the combustion of love and anxiety that fuels Marti Leimbach's vivid new novel. "Daniel isn't Talking" is an affecting study of parental devotion.' Jennifer Egan 'A terrific book, informed passionate and touching. She handles the problem of the autistic child beautifully and I was thoroughly engrossed until the last page.' Joanne Harris 'I cared so deeply for Daniel, and for his family's predicament. This novel is both tender and insightful." Susan Fletcher author of 'Eve Green' 'Marti Leimbach's terrific novel manages to be both realistic and upbeat about a difficult subject and is shot through with wonderful moments of humour.' Kate Long author of 'The Bad Mother's Handbook'

Joanne Harris
'She handles the problem of the autistic child beautifully and I was thoroughly engrossed until the last page.'

The Works Magazine
‘Never bleak, this inspiring read sheds light on the often misunderstood condition.’

Customer Reviews

A very good book
Having two children with speech, language and communication problems and one diagnosed with autism, I enjoy reading books of this nature because I find them to be a "sanity" check. I find myself feeling normal as I read these pages to discover that there are parents like me out there and they have challenging children too. This was a lovely story and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

wanted to like it
I've been looking forward to this book for a long time, but I was really disappointed. The husband is portrayed as, frankly, an absolute monster - controlling, petty, egotistical even before the children's birth, and after, ignorant, judgemental and instantly The Enemy, wishing only for the poor boy to go into a home and be forgotten. I found his character so unrelentingly horrible it was hard to focus on anything else - the boy's development, the mother's meandering, semi-mad narrative. There's too much focus, I feel, on the now extremely discredited MMR theory, so for me the book already felt dated.

It's worth the read, as it's so recommended and clearly it's pushing the right buttons for many people, but certainly didn't do it for me.

Refreshingly easy to read. Wonderful characters.
A wonderful insight into autism that isn't lost among discussions of 'the triad' or sensory issues. It is the sort of novel anyone could read and without realising it gain understanding of the challenges faced by all who have autism in their lives. As such, I will be recommending it to family and friends as a subtle way to express some of the demands of what it means to a family to raise a child with autism.