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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'When Anthony Macris' son was diagnosed with autism, he and his partner Kathy had two choices: do what they were told - and could afford - or do what they thought best. This is the tragic, joyful, instructive story of how they confronted the condition that changed their lives.
'Before the onset of autism, Alex was a vibrant, healthy little boy, Anthony and Kathy the happiest of parents. Afterwards Alex was struck mute, barely able to recognise them. From then on, all that mattered was finding the right treatment.
'But how to do this, for a disorder with no known cause and no cure? Eventually Anthony and Kathy decided to take control of their son's therapy themselves, turning every aspect of their lives around in the process. It took a long time, but the radiance did return to Alex's face. By then he was a completely different person, and so were his parents.
'When Horse Became Saw is an extraordinary account of Alex's regression and his family's search for answers, an invaluable guide through the obstacles and decisions faced by anyone in their situation. It beautifully paints the emotional world of a father who finds himself in the strange country of autism - and something of a stranger in his own country, whose government refused to fund the therapy his son so desperately needed.
'Above all it enriches our understanding of those who are profoundly different yet have so much to give.' (From the publisher's website.)
Affiliation Notes
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Writing Disability in Australia:
Type of disability Autism, temporary mutism. Type of character Primary. Point of view First person (autobiographical, not the disabled character).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Afterlife of Books
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 71 no. 3 2012; (p. 79-88)'In Law and Literature, a subject offered to the University of Melbourne’s final-year law students, they study Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man and Helen Garner’s Joe Cinque’s Consolation. In both books the law fails. Or as Gary Cazalet, who got the subject up and running, says of Hooper’s book: ‘It is an indictment of our legal system and it isn’t.’ I’d put it another way. In both books the victims’ families find, in law, neither solace nor justice. Justice, that is, the way we laypeople like to imagine it: morally purifying, thunderously absolute, a revelation, a release—justice of the kind that law can rarely give us.' (Author's introduction)
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The Picks of the Crop
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 6 August 2011; (p. 26-27) The judges of the 2011 Age Book of the Year Awards comment on each of the fifteen shortlisted titles. Morag Fraser and Maria Tumarkin comment on the non-fiction titles, David McCooey on the poetry titles and Jo Case and Chris Flynn on the fiction titles. -
Self-Portrait of a Flawed Father
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 June 2011; (p. 35)
— Review of When Horse Became Saw : A Family's Journey Through Autism 2011 single work autobiography -
Not Shutting Up
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 331 2011; (p. 23)
— Review of When Horse Became Saw : A Family's Journey Through Autism 2011 single work autobiography -
The View from Over There
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , May vol. 6 no. 4 2011; (p. 15)
— Review of When Horse Became Saw : A Family's Journey Through Autism 2011 single work autobiography ; Not Dark Yet : A Personal History 2011 single work autobiography
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Non-Fiction
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 26 March 2011; (p. 28)
— Review of When Horse Became Saw : A Family's Journey Through Autism 2011 single work autobiography ; The Happy Life : The Search for Contentment in the Modern World 2011 single work essay ; Australian Documentary : History, Practices and Genres 2011 multi chapter work criticism -
The View from Over There
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , May vol. 6 no. 4 2011; (p. 15)
— Review of When Horse Became Saw : A Family's Journey Through Autism 2011 single work autobiography ; Not Dark Yet : A Personal History 2011 single work autobiography -
Not Shutting Up
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 331 2011; (p. 23)
— Review of When Horse Became Saw : A Family's Journey Through Autism 2011 single work autobiography -
Self-Portrait of a Flawed Father
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 June 2011; (p. 35)
— Review of When Horse Became Saw : A Family's Journey Through Autism 2011 single work autobiography -
Autism : An Untold Story
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 5 April 2011; (p. 4-5) -
The Picks of the Crop
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 6 August 2011; (p. 26-27) The judges of the 2011 Age Book of the Year Awards comment on each of the fifteen shortlisted titles. Morag Fraser and Maria Tumarkin comment on the non-fiction titles, David McCooey on the poetry titles and Jo Case and Chris Flynn on the fiction titles. -
The Afterlife of Books
2012
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 71 no. 3 2012; (p. 79-88)'In Law and Literature, a subject offered to the University of Melbourne’s final-year law students, they study Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man and Helen Garner’s Joe Cinque’s Consolation. In both books the law fails. Or as Gary Cazalet, who got the subject up and running, says of Hooper’s book: ‘It is an indictment of our legal system and it isn’t.’ I’d put it another way. In both books the victims’ families find, in law, neither solace nor justice. Justice, that is, the way we laypeople like to imagine it: morally purifying, thunderously absolute, a revelation, a release—justice of the kind that law can rarely give us.' (Author's introduction)
Awards
- 2012 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Non-Fiction
- 2011 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award — Non-Fiction Prize