Product Description

This is 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. This is a tense, moving novel that will make you laugh at loud even as it breaks your heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #304541 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'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

An exquisite novel!
There are certain novels that stay with you forever, Daniel Isn't Talking is one of them. You cannot help but be swept up in the energy of the book's narrator, a young mother named Melanie who is fighting first to figure out what is wrong with her child (who is autistic), and then to get him help.

The novel dramatizes the decline of Melanie's marriage and the blossoming of a love affair between her and the man who eventually shows her how to teach Daniel to talk and learn. You feel every ounce of Melanie's ambivalence in the face of this unexpected love affair. The relationship between her and the child's teacher is so complex and so interesting, and it reminds us of something we often forget about parents of disabled children: how young they are, how vulnerable, how desperately they, themselves, need to be loved while they pour out their love for their children.

The author's portrayal of autism in a child is absolutely spot on. Daniel is seen as a child who can grow and develop, not as a kind of robot or savant, as is so often the case in portrayals of autistic people.

I cannot praise this novel enough. It is sad at times, yes, but it is also unbelievably funny in places (Melanie's brother will make you laugh out loud) and Marti Leimbach is just such an excellent writer. I am hoping for a sequel!

Brilliant book
Being the mother of a child with ASD I have read many books on the subject. This was a refreshing change to read something that was fictional but based on fact. The author knows her stuff and to have a book based on autism written as a story as opposed to long winded facts was a blessing and at times funny. Recommended, love this book, enough to write my first review!

Up there with "Let Me Hear your Voice"
One of the (rare) books on autism which as a parent didn't freak me out, make me feel guilty for not doing enough, bore me to death, scare me silly, or made me wish I'd studied chemistry more at school. If you have a child with autism, get this book, grab a glass of wine or a bar of chocolate, wait until kiddo is asleep, jump in the bath, and chill with this book. Feel you have a friend to talk to who understands. Especially good for when Hubby doesn't want to talk about autism. I read somewhere that Marti said she never thought she'd write a book like this one. I am very glad she did. She describes my experience, as a parent of a child with autism, perfectly. I mention "Let me hear your voice". I wish I'd got this book first. I know Catherine Maurice is a heroine, a giant of autism. But the love for Daniel shines out of this book more for me, it gave me hope, many professionals are so quick to write off your child because "we don't want to raise your hopes", I'd rather have hope than despair and I know my lovely little boy wants that too for us all too. And Marti was brave enough to state that her writing came from her personal journey which I respect enormously.