re A Painful Gift by Christopher Goodchild
Christopher's autobiography of growing up with and coming to terms with his eventual diagnosis of Asperger's is illuminating, particularly in addressing fear of intimacy and entanglement. Few autobiographical works by those on the autism spectrum tackle this important issue and Christopher does so with great humanity.
Donna Williams  http://www.donnawilliams.net
A painful gift, a book that wounds and reveals.
The story of a gentle man
who is constantly lost
yet found.

Lost,
because he never knew
he was sick with autism.
But found,
when it was diagnosed many years on.

It was no longer then a sickness
but part of his being.
A way of life
his way of life
and of relating or of fleeing relationships.

Found and lost through relationships
found by Jesus
and by Daniel, his beloved son.

A moving, deeply moving story
that can reveal our woundedness but also our hope
how quickly we judge through the prism of our fears and wounds.
Yet found by Jesus
who is always there – but so often silent.

Our hope.

Jean Vanier November 2008