Please, read this book if you are interested in or if you have children with autism. As a paraprofessional in special education, I have read numerous books about autism, written by professionals and parents. But this novel, ‘Songs of the Gorilla Nation’, by Dawn Prince-Hughes is written from within, from the depths of a tormented soul. It is a beautifully written, honest, sad and yet wonderful story.

Dawn Prince-Hughes was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at a later stage in her life. The diagnosis explained to others and to herself why, as a child, she was ‘different’. As a result of her ‘weird’ behavior Dawn was constantly teased and abused.

This all changed when she visited the Seattle Zoo and met the gorillas. For the first time in her life she could relate to living beings. These huge creatures offered her something that was new to her: friendship. With their help she succeeded in overcoming her desperate sense of isolation.

Her Ph.D in interdisciplinary anthropology is not her most important achievement; the fact that Dawn emerged from the darkness into the fullness of life and love is the greatest miracle of all.