"In this honest memoir, Hjalmarsson (a psychoanalyst with a master’s degree in child development) conveys the frustrations and the triumphs of raising an autistic daughter. She also explains how a special-needs kid affects the rest of the family—in her case, her younger girl and her now ex-husband, Skyhorse publisher Tony Lyons. Until she was three, Lina (now nine), cheerfully played with friends. Then, after receiving her second MMR vaccine, she experienced a seizure and was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus. How that relates to Lina’s autism is left in question. Over the years, the family moves often, trying to find better neighborhoods and schools for Lina, whose behavior includes hitting, biting, peeing on the floor, and trying to run away. Strangers can be alarmingly judgmental and unsympathetic. The family tries everything, including acupuncture, herbal remedies, and dietary changes, while Hjalmarsson remains remarkably positive. 'She taught me to take life as it is,' she writes. 'She showed me how to be happy and laughing in the midst of sorrow and loss.' A passionate book for families with special-needs children." —Karen Springen, Booklist
“The author’s positive, optimistic attitude and her thorough descriptions of therapies will be helpful to the parents and caretakers of autistic children.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Finding Lina is an inspirational and brave story of Helena's journey to help her daughter. A positive reminder that we learn so much from our children and that each one shines in their own special way.” —Jenny McCarthy, author, activist, actress
“A remarkable journey: one mother charts her quest to help her daughter, informing other parents along the way so that they can benefit directly from her research. Finding Lina will help any parent with a child on the autism spectrum or with any other neuro-sensory condition.” —Rupert Isaacson, author of The Horse Boy
“Finding Lina is not only a mother's painfully honest account of coming to terms with her daughter's autism, but an offering of insight and new possibility to parents facing similar situations, This is a story that resonates beyond the specific illness, with a universality both heart-rending and inspiring.” —Dick Russell, New York Times bestselling author
“Finding Lina's charm is its laser focus on what it means to accept and be nourished by life's brutal realities—how deep connections require you to truly listen, rather than just to hear, and to keep looking, even when you can't see. This isn't a book about autism, this is a love story.” —Jeni Decker, author of I Wish I Were Engulfed in Flames
“Finding Lina is a gritty, real, intense immersion into autism. You find yourself not as a distant reader but living in the minds and hearts of the parents and the unspeakable discomfort of trying to anticipate and hold the confusion of this problem. The book is a living testimony to overcoming in order to make the family whole and turning suffering into joy.” —Leslie Stein, author of Becoming Whole
“Plato said of the journey of life that 'the first and best victory is to conquer self.' Those of us with a child on the spectrum are instructed in this maxim. In Finding Lina, Hjalmarsson takes us on a journey of transformation with heart and honesty, applicable to not only the challenges of autism but to the trials life hands us all.” —Ken Siri, author of 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Boys and co-author of Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism)
“I love how Hjalmarsson completely dispels the theory of the 'refrigerator mother.' She also depicts with grace how she gathers and coordinates the army of people needed to support one special needs child. Hjalmarsson is an inspiration!” —Professor Gayle DeLong, Baruch College, City of University of New York
“This is a brave and honest book about the journey of one family to overcome the challenge of autism and to build a life of meaning for the child they love.” (Louis Conte, board member, Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy)
“Finding Lina is an honest and insightful account of a mother's terrifying and courageous odyssey searching for answers, and ultimately discovering solutions—all in the name of her precious daughter, Lina. For anyone who has been through a soul-shaking tragedy, Finding Lina is a testament to the power of the human spirit. Helena's unwavering determination demonstrates how one's love for a child can ignite a deep and powerful strength, capable of battling any beast—even autism.” —Mary Coyle, Homeopath and Director of the Real Child Center
“Finding Lina is a poignant narrative of a mother’s struggle to lovingly care for a daughter with severe health challenges. The book is at once heartwarming and heartrending, faithfully depicting the extraordinary world of autism parenting.” —Mary Holland, Co-founder, the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy (EBCALA), Co-editor, Vaccine Epidemic
"In this honest memoir, Hjalmarsson (a psychoanalyst with a master’s degree in child development) conveys the frustrations and the triumphs of raising an autistic daughter. She also explains how a special-needs kid affects the rest of the family—in her case, her younger girl and her now ex-husband, Skyhorse publisher Tony Lyons. Until she was three, Lina (now nine), cheerfully played with friends. Then, after receiving her second MMR vaccine, she experienced a seizure and was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus. How that relates to Lina’s autism is left in question. Over the years, the family moves often, trying to find better neighborhoods and schools for Lina, whose behavior includes hitting, biting, peeing on the floor, and trying to run away. Strangers can be alarmingly judgmental and unsympathetic. The family tries everything, including acupuncture, herbal remedies, and dietary changes, while Hjalmarsson remains remarkably positive. 'She taught me to take life as it is,' she writes. 'She showed me how to be happy and laughing in the midst of sorrow and loss.' A passionate book for families with special-needs children." —Karen Springen, Booklist
“The author’s positive, optimistic attitude and her thorough descriptions of therapies will be helpful to the parents and caretakers of autistic children.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Finding Lina is an inspirational and brave story of Helena's journey to help her daughter. A positive reminder that we learn so much from our children and that each one shines in their own special way.” —Jenny McCarthy, author, activist, actress
“A remarkable journey: one mother charts her quest to help her daughter, informing other parents along the way so that they can benefit directly from her research. Finding Lina will help any parent with a child on the autism spectrum or with any other neuro-sensory condition.” —Rupert Isaacson, author of The Horse Boy
“Finding Lina is not only a mother's painfully honest account of coming to terms with her daughter's autism, but an offering of insight and new possibility to parents facing similar situations, This is a story that resonates beyond the specific illness, with a universality both heart-rending and inspiring.” —Dick Russell, New York Times bestselling author
“Finding Lina's charm is its laser focus on what it means to accept and be nourished by life's brutal realities—how deep connections require you to truly listen, rather than just to hear, and to keep looking, even when you can't see. This isn't a book about autism, this is a love story.” —Jeni Decker, author of I Wish I Were Engulfed in Flames
“Finding Lina is a gritty, real, intense immersion into autism. You find yourself not as a distant reader but living in the minds and hearts of the parents and the unspeakable discomfort of trying to anticipate and hold the confusion of this problem. The book is a living testimony to overcoming in order to make the family whole and turning suffering into joy.” —Leslie Stein, author of Becoming Whole
“Plato said of the journey of life that 'the first and best victory is to conquer self.' Those of us with a child on the spectrum are instructed in this maxim. In Finding Lina, Hjalmarsson takes us on a journey of transformation with heart and honesty, applicable to not only the challenges of autism but to the trials life hands us all.” —Ken Siri, author of 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Boys and co-author of Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism)
“I love how Hjalmarsson completely dispels the theory of the 'refrigerator mother.' She also depicts with grace how she gathers and coordinates the army of people needed to support one special needs child. Hjalmarsson is an inspiration!” —Professor Gayle DeLong, Baruch College, City of University of New York
“This is a brave and honest book about the journey of one family to overcome the challenge of autism and to build a life of meaning for the child they love.” (Louis Conte, board member, Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy)
“Finding Lina is an honest and insightful account of a mother's terrifying and courageous odyssey searching for answers, and ultimately discovering solutions—all in the name of her precious daughter, Lina. For anyone who has been through a soul-shaking tragedy, Finding Lina is a testament to the power of the human spirit. Helena's unwavering determination demonstrates how one's love for a child can ignite a deep and powerful strength, capable of battling any beast—even autism.” —Mary Coyle, Homeopath and Director of the Real Child Center
“Finding Lina is a poignant narrative of a mother’s struggle to lovingly care for a daughter with severe health challenges. The book is at once heartwarming and heartrending, faithfully depicting the extraordinary world of autism parenting.” —Mary Holland, Co-founder, the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy (EBCALA), Co-editor, Vaccine Epidemic
In the afterword of this intense memoir, Hjalmarsson writes, “I could keep writing this book until both Lina and I are walking around with canes, without teeth or memory,” and the reader believes her. The obsessive documentation of her daughter Lina’s sudden decline into autism and her quest for successful treatments make it clear that there is no day off for a parent of a child with disabilities as severe as Lina’s. Hjalmarsson’s passion for her daughter’s cause is both impressive and daunting, and her occasional lapse into blaming doctors, strangers on the street, or places—Rhode Island fails to suit her needs, and she mourns “leaving the civilization of New York City”—can be off-putting, until readers remember her predicament. For any parent, the sense of there-but-for-the-grace-of-God is strong when confronted with stories of children succumbing to unexplainable illness, and Hjalmarsson earns the reader’s sympathy with repeated tales from an impossibly hard daily life. Undaunted, the author follows traditional Western and more holistic paths in an attempt to find a cure; she certainly has much to teach about her medical and therapeutic trials, but her biggest lesson is helpful for all parents: we must not “get so ambitious in our quest to cure what we consider unacceptable that we forget to listen and be present.” (Sept.)
Finding Lina is a poignant narrative of a mother’s struggle to lovingly care for a daughter with severe health challenges. The book is at once heartwarming and heartrending, faithfully depicting the extraordinary world of autism parenting.
Finding Lina is an honest and insightful account of a mother's terrifying and courageous odyssey searching for answers, and ultimately discovering solutions--all in the name of her precious daughter, Lina. For anyone who has been through a soul-shaking tragedy, Finding Lina is a testament to the power of the human spirit. Helena's unwavering determination demonstrates how one's love for a child can ignite a deep and powerful strength, capable of battling any beast--even autism.
This is a brave and honest book about the journey of one family to overcome the challenge of autism and to build a life of meaning for the child they love.
I love how Hjalmarsson completely dispels the theory of the "refrigerator mother." She also depicts with grace how she gathers and coordinates the army of people needed to support one special needs child. Hjalmarsson is an inspiration!
Plato said of the journey of life that 'the first and best victory is to conquer self.' Those of us with a child on the spectrum are instructed in this maxim. In Finding Lina, Hjalmarsson takes us on a journey of transformation with heart and honesty, applicable to not only the challenges of autism but to the trials life hands us all.
Finding Lina is a gritty, real, intense immersion into autism. You find yourself not as a distant reader but living in the minds and hearts of the parents and the unspeakable discomfort of trying to anticipate and hold the confusion of this problem. The book is a living testimony to overcoming in order to make the family whole and turning suffering into joy.
Finding Lina's charm is its laser focus on what it means to accept and be nourished by life's brutal realities--how deep connections require you to truly listen, rather than just to hear, and to keep looking, even when you can't see. This isn't a book about autism, this is a love story.
Finding Lina is not only a mother's painfully honest account of coming to terms with her daughter's autism, but an offering of insight and new possibility to parents facing similar situations, This is a story that resonates beyond the specific illness, with a universality both heart-rending and inspiring.
A remarkable journey: one mother charts her quest to help her daughter, informing other parents along the way so that they can benefit directly from her research. Finding Lina will help any parent with a child on the autism spectrum or with any other neuro-sensory condition.
Finding Lina is an inspirational and brave story of Helena's journey to help her daughter. A positive reminder that we learn so much from our children and that each one shines in their own special way.
The story of a mother's transformation in learning to care for her special needs daughter. At age 3, Hjalmarsson's (co-editor: The Quotable Book Lover, 1999) daughter, Lina, experienced seizures, became unresponsive and lost her speech. As Lina got increasingly difficult and destructive--screaming, biting, throwing tantrums and running from the house--Hjalmarsson tried a variety of techniques to help her daughter. She moved from the city to the suburbs and back again, tried out numerous schools and caregivers, and put Lina on special diets and medications, both traditional and alternative. While many of these attempts seemed to help Lina for a time, she invariably regressed. As a psychoanalyst, Hjalmarsson was perhaps more aware than many parents of the theories surrounding autism treatments, and she brings this knowledge to the book, offering detailed descriptions of each therapy and the ensuing results. But the book is more about the author herself and how she managed the difficulties of raising such a challenging child. Her marriage fell apart (although she and her husband remain close friends), and she was, fortunately, able to work part-time in order to dedicate her life almost exclusively to caring for Lina. One of the more interesting passages is a description of Hjalmarsson hiding from her daughter in the basement and then dashing into the yard in a desperate attempt to escape her. It's a powerful sequence, showing the extreme challenges of living with an autistic child, and more such scenes would add depth the memoir. At times, the level of detail, including descriptions of playtimes and the names of just about everyone Lina has encountered in her eight years, becomes tedious. But the author's positive, optimistic attitude and her thorough descriptions of therapies will be helpful to the parents and caretakers of autistic children.
