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Stephen Venables
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Book
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Publisher | Hutchinson | ||
ISBN | 9780099478799 | ||
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Reviewer
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Jayne
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Synopsis
"Like the swallows, Ollie came in the spring and left in the autumn. Dancing, singing, swooping - there was something birdlike about his energy, joy and laughter - but also the fleeting, transitory, enigmatic quality of his life. At the age of two he lost the ability to speak, when autism turned his life - and ours - into a baffling challenge. Then at four, he almost died from Leukaemia. Chemotherapy worked its magic, but at six he had a relapse in the Central Nervous System. He fought hard and made a full recovery. Then, just six months from the Official All Clear, a brain tumour was discovered. The surgeons warned that residual tentacles of cancer would almost certainly soon resume their insidious worming through his brain. After a brave struggle, he died very suddenly. His body had gone into meltdown. He was twelve." This is not a story of passive suffering or failure. Ollie had extraordinary courage. Time after time he bounced back, determined to enjoy life. He had astonishing endurance. He was obstinate, mischievous, playful, flirtatious, quixotic, funny. He generated - and continues to generate - huge amounts of laughter. And he was very beautiful. He was the sort of person who would always dominate a room and affect everyone around him. We always felt that if autism had not unravelled the wiring of his neural pathways, he would have achieved extraordinary things. "I would like to explore the journey we made with Ollie and to tell his story. Unlike a mountaineer, pursuing extreme experiences for self-gratification, he had difficulty thrust upon him - his courage was real. For me, too, although I did not have to do all the physical pain and suffering, the journey was far more compelling than any expedition."
Review
Ollie by Stephen Venables is a beautiful book written by a devoted father about his courageous son's life . I loved this book because of the way the parents had the great passion to fight for the things their son needed, not only because he was autistic but because they knew him better than all the social workers and doctors who were involved in his care.
This book also shows how the younger brother at times felt neglected because he had to be passed to friends and relatives to be looked after when Ollie was taken into hospital for treatments and surgery. And yet this young brother had the compassion many adults could not show to another person when he was around him and joined in when there were times of teaching and helping Ollie to learn.
It also shows that if you have an autistic child who is completely without speach, how much time and energy that it takes to look after a child like this at home, especially the times when he did go to school or escaped from their home and had no way of communicating to anyone that he was lost.
The heartaches and the pleasures that a child can bring especially when he suddenly recognises you or gives you a beaming smile or a hug are worth all the heataches in between.
This book is written by one of Britain' outstanding mountaineers and as he says in the flyleaf of the book "This is the story of the journey we made with Ollie. Unlike a mountaineer, pursuing extreeme experiences out of choice, Ollie had difficulty thrust upon him: he was forced to be brave. For me, too, the journey was far more compelling than any expedition."
I found this book wonderfully and compellingly written and so moving and the tears of frustration that I shed for what the family were going through, and the compassion that some of the doctors and the volunteer helpers who gave quiet unstinting time, knowing that the journey would be hard, and unbelievable. But also I understood the families head banging against authority and how frustrating that can be.
My last comment must be for the family and for Stephen, Rosie and Edmund the brother, THANK YOU for sharing your story with us and I must praise you for your determination for the best for Ollie.
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