Boomer & Me

Between juggling work, joint custody and the ordinary demands of motherhood, Jo tries to work out why her son Leo (aka Boomer) is finding it hard to fit in. His wit wins him friends, but the rituals of friendship-likelearning to compromise-are proving challenging. Is it because he's an only child? Could he be gifted? When Leo is diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, Jo fears what it means-and sees herself, and her family,through new eyes. Trapped in a cycle of doubt and discovery, she wonders how you can stay true to who you are and fit in. What the hell is 'normal' anyway?This is the bittersweet story of a twenty-first-century family, and why being different isn't a disability-it just takes some getting used to.'Gutsy and heartfelt' Benjamin Law'A work of love and beauty' Susan Johnson Jo Case is senior writer/editor at The Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. She has been books editor of The Big Issue (Australia), deputy editor of Australian Book Review and associate editor of independent literary journal Kill Your Darlings. She worked for independent bookseller Readings Books Music and Film, producing their monthly newsletter, for seven years. Her reviews, essays and opinion pieces have appeared in the Age, the Australian, Sydney Morning Herald and the Monthly, and have been broadcast on ABC Radio National's The Book Show and Triple R's Breakfasters. She has also been published in Sleepers Almanac and Best Australian Stories. Jo was a founding board member of The Stella Prize, Australia's only prize to reward the best book of the year by a woman writer, and was a member of the programming committee of the Melbourne Writers Festival for six years.