Somebody Somewhere:: Breaking Free from the World of Autism

In Nobody Nowhere , the author reported on her escape, after 25 years, from the hallucinatory prison of autism inhabited by her multiple personalities. The artistically gifted Williams continues to build a bridge between ``my'' world and ``the'' world in this detailed follow-up, weaving recently recovered memories into accounts of her ongoing daily life. In her native Australia, she began to teach children with special needs--autistics among them--in whom she relived her own earlier struggles. With exquisite sensitivity, she conveys her impressions of people and surroundings as might someone returning from an extended trip. Particularly moving is her newly claimed sense of inhabiting her own body, a connection which she describes as ``the first security in life, which had been missing.'' Travel abroad to publicize her book and meet with foreign publishers posed another challenge, which she met with courage. (Mar.)