Novel explores family impact of autism
An insightful novel ‘Those who will not see’ by Sheffield author Lauren Woodcock is set to transform understanding of autism, from a writer with first-hand experience.
Lauren Woodcock grew up with an autistic younger brother, trained as a speech and language therapist and went on to specialise as a therapist for individuals with Autistic Spectrum Condition.
She has that unique insight into the condition and through the novel explores how autism touches relationships, between husband and wife, brothers and sisters, friends and wider family members.
The novel begins when Susan Pickering’s life is turned upside down when the niggling doubt that there is not quite right with her little boy is finally confirmed and her once loving husband cannot accept that there is a problem. To make matters worse, her young daughter takes it upon herself to bear the brunt of responsibility in this suddenly chaotic family situation and the only person apparently oblivious to the entire drama is autistic Matthew Pickering himself. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the four main characters – Matthew’s mother, his father and his sister, but with most of the accounts from Matthew himself.
Lauren Woodcock said: “This is a story that pulls on a lot of my own personal experiences of growing up with a family dealing with autism, plus my time as a therapist working with autistic young people. Often it’s not the issue with the young person themselves, but the impact on a family, which can be huge and I’ve aimed to capture this in Those Who Will Not See.”
From the very first chapter of Those Who Will Not See readers will quickly realise that the author, Lauren Woodcock, has personal experience of autism and the book cleverly gives a real understanding from Mathew’s perspective to the point that you feel you are almost inside his head. You can feel his frustration, his black and white and completely literal take on life and his pain and fear when he isn’t totally in control of situations and his surroundings.
However, Those Who Will Not See not only opens a door to understanding autism and the discrimination associated with it, but explores the numerous aspects of relationships and touches on the numerous ups and downs of daily life from marriage breakdowns and re-marriages to teenage friendships, love and forbidden affairs.
Those Who Will Not See is available from Amazon in paperback (£7.99) and Kindle edition (£3.79).
NOTES TO EDITORS: For more information about this novel and its author, or to receive a copy for review, please contact lauren@laurenwoodcock.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lauren Woodcock trained as a speech and language therapist at the University of Sheffield and later went on to specialise as a therapist for individuals with Autistic Spectrum Condition – a personal passion of Lauren’s having grown up with her autistic younger brother. Those Who Will Not See is Lauren’s first novel and she is currently working on her next project.
SUNDAY TIMES REVIEW:
- “Lauren Woodcock’s novel, Those Who Will Not See, is both a great read and a perceptive insight into that much misunderstood condition, autism. It is written from the heart (she grew up with a brother who is autistic), and her work as a therapist for people with autistic-spectrum disorder brings the wisdom of experience, too.”
AMAZON REVIEWS:
- “I am gutted….gutted that it had to end, I wanted it to go on forever. I feel a massive hole in my life where Matthew used to be. This book is brilliantly written and shows the reader how people with autism might feel and also the impact their disorder has on those around them. I work in a school and will be far more understanding of how those children are truly feeling after reading this book.”
- “Let me say first of all that this is not normally my kind of read. As a confirmed Sci-Fi / Biography / True Crime kind of guy, this would normally have passed me by. But, on a passing recommendation from a work colleague, I downloaded and gave it a go. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.”
- “Being a teacher who works with children with autism it really opened my eyes to how they view the world. You don’t, however, have to be interested in autism to enjoy this book it’s a book that you will not be able to put down whoever you are and wherever you are!”
