Part of the Reading Well scheme. 27 books selected by young people and health professionals to provide 13 to 18 year olds with high-quality support, information and advice about common mental health issues and related conditions. Winner of the NASEN & TES Special Educational Needs Children's Book Award 2003 Have you ever been called a freak or a geek? Have you ever felt like one? Luke Jackson is 13 years old and has Asperger Syndrome. Over the years Luke has learned to laugh at such names but there are other aspects of life which are more difficult. Adolescence and the teenage years are a minefield of emotions, transitions and decisions and when a child has Asperger Syndrome, the result is often explosive. Luke has three sisters and one brother in various stages of their adolescent and teenage years but he is acutely aware of just how different he is and how little information is available for adolescents like himself. Drawing from his own experiences and gaining information from his teenage brother and sisters, he wrote this enlightening, honest and witty book in an attempt to address difficult topics such as bullying, friendships, when and how to tell others about AS, school problems, dating and relationships, and morality. Luke writes briefly about his younger autistic and AD/HD brothers, providing amusing insights into the antics of his younger years and advice for parents, carers and teachers of younger AS children. However, his main reason for writing was because "so many books are written about us, but none are written directly to adolescents with Asperger Syndrome. I thought I would write one in the hope that we could all learn together".

Luke Jackson's unabridged and sparkling sequel to his best-selling user guide to adolescence Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome is the must-read handbook for teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum. With devastating clarity, Luke focuses on the pitfalls involved in navigating the transition to adulthood, and the challenges of adult life. He covers everything from bullying and drugs to socialising, sex, negotiating relationships, and finding and keeping your first job.

An original graphic novel based on the IVF stories of its husband-and-wife authors and the 1-in-50 couples around the world like them. Conrad and Joanne met in their final year of university and have been virtually inseparable since then. For a while, it felt like they had all the time in the world. Yet now, when they are finally ready to have kids, they find that getting pregnant isn't always so easy. Ahead of them lies a difficult, expensive, and emotional journey into the world of assisted fertility, where each 'successful' implantation is followed by a two-week wait to see if the pregnancy takes. Join Joanne and Conrad, their friends, their family, their coworkers, and a stream of expert medical practitioners as they experience the highs and the lows, the tears and the laughter in this sensitive but unflinching portrayal of the hope and heartbreak offered to so many by modern medicine.

Armstrong TX is not on the main rodeo circuit, which explains how a beatup bronc rider like Larry Miller was able to wangle an invitation, all expenses paid. He didn't last out the ten seconds of his first ride but ended in the infirmary where he met Martha Daniels who has short hair, slim hips, and a mouth that tastes like peaches. He met her again at the Longhorn Dance Hall, where she invited him to go with her to church that Sunday. But when he showed up at her door, the only one home was her thirteen-year old son Tim, all arms and legs and the common sense of a month-old spaniel. While searching for Martha, Larry must continue to compete in the rodeo, keep Tim out of misadventures, fight off the advances of two nymphomaniac housewives, and break up a drug distribution ring. Unfortunately, Artie Daniels, Martha's ex-husband, doesn't pay for the dope he buys or return the money he borrows to pay for it. Threats come from every direction, but Larry does make one important new friend, Lionel, a 6' 3" 250 pound enforcer for a loan shark. More important, he finds a way to come to grips with his own aging body and his need for a new career.

Spying for the Confederacy, Jean-Pierre Mercier, a bilingual McGill student, survives the Battle of Baltimore to join the correspondents who have flocked to Washington to report on the forthcoming War Between the States. A balloon ride brings him to Bull Run. Appalled by the carnage among the green troops, he follows a Confederate deserter into the hills of Kentucky where he meets the young Protestant girl who will later become his wife. Resuming his mission, he spys on the Union troops at Mill Run and Shiloh, then travels down the Mississippi to New Orleans and then across the Southern States by train. Captured at Chancellorsville, he is sent to the Federal prison at Point Lookout. Once he is free, he heads for home, riding to New York with a trainload of draft protestors. The man who returns to Montreal, hardened by travel, war, and the constant need to live by his wits, is far different from the boy who left.

Accompanied by his faithful Morgan, Reuben Lee finds the hidden village of the Havasupai where two white women are held captive. Reuben instantly falls in love with Helen, the golden-haired teen-age daughter. Reuben persuades Helen to escape accompanied by her friend Spring Morning. The Havasupai chase the trio up to the canyon's rim and through the forest. Helen's childishness brings the threesome close to calamity time after time, but is offset by Spring Morning's courage and maturity. They reach the town of Sojourn where Reuben must compete for Helen's attention with a horde of single men. But the Havasupai attack and destroy the town. Reuben and the girls live off the land avoiding the Apache. Approaching a burnt-out wagon train to see if they can aid the survivors, they narrowly avoid a group of bandits robbing the corpses. Soon Reuben discovers that the town of Hostler's Rest is not what it seems and that Spring Morning is the woman he has loved all along.

n 1873, when Reuben Lee arrived in the Wyoming Territory by train from Philadelphia, tired, hungry and virtually penniless, he had no idea that in a few short weeks he would be called "The Gunfighter." In his own mind, Reuben was a failure. While his brother lay a hero on the field at Gettysburg, Reuben had spent the war years adding endless columns of figures. The small amount he embezzled barely bought him a coach class ticket to Morgan City WY. And in Morgan City, Reuben found clean white shirts and high starched collars were no substitute for calloused hands and a pair of sturdy work boots. Ollie Swenson gave him a job, grudgingly. But then Ollie had begrudged everyone and everything since his wife died. Selling otherwise worthless land to Ollie and his group of Swedish immigrants had seemed a good idea to Pontius Morgan at the time, but now their fences were ruining "his" grazing land. He offered to buy them out for ten cents on the dollar, and when they wouldn't sell, he turned to other methods.

What is the GF/CF diet? Does it work? What's it like to go on it? In this user guide to the gluten and casein free diet, Luke Jackson, who is 12 years old and has Asperger Syndrome, tells you everything you need to know - both good and bad. The details of his first-hand experience of the diet show how it has improved the quality both of his own life and that of other members of the family. Jacqui Jackson, Luke's mother, decided to try the diet for Luke and his two brothers - Joe who has AD/HD and Ben who has autism - and found the results to be highly rewarding: as Luke says, the diet `really can change people's lives'. Luke offers practical advice on topics such as what to expect when beginning the diet, tips for how to alleviate any initial discomfort, through to advice on how to rearrange the kitchen to avoid-cross contamination. The book includes quotes from other members of the family, a chapter by Luke's mother on how to cope with the challenges of cooking for a family where some people are on the diet and others are not, along with a selection of the family's favourite recipes. An extensive list of useful addresses and websites of suppliers, a food diary for an average week, and suggestions for packed lunches are also included, making the book a really practical source of information. Luke's message is one of unfailing encouragement. Despite the downsides, he and his family have no regrets about going on the diet. This positive and honest book is an important source of encouragement and advice for people whose lives are touched by autism, AS or AD/HD, for parents considering implementing the diet with their children, and for anyone on the diet, young or old.

This beautiful book is written by an astute 17 year-old with Aspergers Syndrome. It tells some of his life story in his own poetic words; I am sure many of you, with or without Aspergers, will relate to his poetry, photography and illustrations. This book lets us gently into his world and shares with us some of the challenges he faced as an adolescent on the autistic spectrum.' - NAGC Magazine 'A remarkable achievement for a teenager seeking to find his way through the confusion and frustration of living with Asperger syndrome.' - Current Awareness Service This illustrated collection of Luke Jackson's insightful and often poignant poems offers a glimpse of the emotional and visual sensibilities of people on the autism spectrum in their adolescent years - perhaps the most challenging time for anyone with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Luke writes perceptively about identity, struggle, loneliness, love and the pursuit of happiness, and about finding calm amid the often overwhelming confusion and frustration that accompanies AS.

Luke Jackson's unabridged and sparkling sequel to his best-selling user guide to adolescence Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome is the must-read handbook for teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum. With devastating clarity, Luke focuses on the pitfalls involved in navigating the transition to adulthood, and the challenges of adult life. He covers everything from bullying and drugs to socialising, sex, negotiating relationships, and finding and keeping your first job.