Product Description

Amy Wilensky was 8 years old when she started to suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourettes Syndrome. Her fears and compulsions ranged from an irrational dread of odd numbers, to a love of multiples of six, from denying herself water to needing to touch wood.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #866852 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 221 pages

Customer Reviews

Compulsive reading...
Amy Wilenski suffers from Tourette's syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and in writing this book she has shared with us her deeply emotional, but often hilarious, experiences with the world. From collecting pennies in jars, to only getting out of bed when the time on the clock ends in an even number, her tale is curiously compulsive itself, always pushing onwards when you imagine that there can be nothing left to tell. Anyone who has ever felt judgemental about people, or felt judged themselves by another, will acknowledge that Wilensky's frank and honest writing is among the most eye-opening you can get. Wilensky's writing style is at times disjointed and although not difficult to read, I found myself frequently having to reread passages to make sense of them - possibly it is just the American speech patterns which clash with my own British way of following words! Still, the book is enormously interesting and heartwarming with it. Wilensky is a perfect example of someone who has used something potentially destructive to her advantage, and I'd like to think that anyone who reads it can learn a little something from her experiences, too.

Stands out in its genre
With non-fiction the synopsis usually tells you all you need to know really. However I thought I'd just add my thoughts so that if you're thinking about reading it I might help you make the decision :-)

I've read a fair few of this genre and when this was recommended to me a by a good friend from my reading group I was pleased. It was right up my street. It is typical of its genre in that it's someone's memoirs and yes it does all turn out alright in the end but I felt the journey from the first page to the last page is what makes it stand out.

It felt 'real', let me try to explain this. I can read memoirs forever (not the celebrity kind, but real ones) and I can read them with a sense of detachment and an imaginary pat on the shoulder for the writer safe in my own world knowing that it could never happen to me. This felt more gritty and substantial - she told it like it was.

'Passing For Normal' packs a lot of punches and is worth the read. It is informative whilst not ramming the theory down your throat. I was engaged and interested and didn't skim through any of it, which I sometimes find myself doing with memoirs as there are inevitably bits I'm often not wanting to know.

Read it!

Life Changing
I couldn't put this book down. I have a son recently diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. I've wondered in the past about myself maybe having Obsessive/Compulsive type symptoms going on, but it was only as I read this book that I realised I could have been reading about myself. Amy Wilensky has proved that this neurological condition need not hold anyone back - possibly quite the reverse. Thank you Amy for sharing your life with us. I would certainly recommend this book to everyone - it's a great read!