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| Plot Summary of Exiting Nirvana: A Daughter's Life With Autism |
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""Exiting Nirvana" is a mother's account of her autistic daughter, Jessy, and Jessy's life from her teens until the time the book was was published, when Jessy was in her early 40s. The way the chapters of the book are presented is different from the norm. Instead of starting with Jessy's teens and moving forward, showing her progress that way, the author divides the chapters into aspects of Jessy's behavior and life: i.e., the way Jessy talks and the ways she thinks.
Of note are the many photographs of Jessy's extraordinary artwork. Interestingly, Jessy's paintings are nearly as precise as a photograph, yet she freely uses imaginative colors that are different than those found on the objects on she paints. Furthermore, Jessy paints everything she sees, even when inappopriate. An early drawing of her father also shows Jessy's foot, and a painting of a house also includes the lightning bolt-like aura that Jessy sees during a migraine headache.
The author spends a lot of time discussing Jessy's obsession with numbers and includes photographs of Jessy's calculations. Much of Jessy's behavior during this time period is mystifying and the author has a hard time explaining Jessy's actions because the author herself found her daughter's behavior confusing. Later chapters, however, are quite well done and give readers good insight into the way an autistic person thinks. At the start of the book, Jessy can not function on her own and is barely verbal, but by the time the book ends she can communicate, has some measure of self-control, is able to hold a job, and is a great help to her aging parents.
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E. J. McDonald, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Exiting Nirvana: A Daughter's Life With Autism |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Family, ill
Yes
Who?
- Daughter
because he/she is
- mentally ill
Period of greatest activity?
- 1950+
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- artist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- emotionally unstable
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- American (!)
How sensitive is this person?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 ()
United States
Yes
Century:
- 1960's-1970's
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Book makes you feel?
- thoughtful
Writer's slant towards subject:
- favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of set of events during life
Pictures/Illustrations?
- A lot in color 11-15
How much dialogue in bio?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life?
- 51%-75% of book
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Click here for more information about this book
Clara Claiborne Park Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 E. J. McDonald
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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