A Thorn in My Pocket

A Thorn in My Pocket is Eustacia Cutler's story of raising her daughter, Temple Grandin, in the conservative Leave-it-to-Beaver world of the fifties, a time when children with autism were routinely diagnosed as "infant schizophrenics" and banished to institutions. She tells of her fight to keep Temple in the mainstream of family, community, and school life, how Temple responded and went on to succeed, as Ms. Cutler puts it, "beyond my wildest dreams." Ms. Cutler also explores the nature of the autism disorder as doctors understand it today, and how its predominant characteristics reflect our own traits in an exaggerated form.  Insightful chapters include:

• And Baby Makes Three
• As the Twig Is Bent
• Childhood
• The Separate Worlds Begin
• Things Fall Apart
• And Start All Over Again
• The End of Childhood
• Then What Happened?
• Looking for the Source
• The Legacy of Genes
• What It Means to Be Human

The mother of the most famous person with autism today, Temple Grandin, Ph.D., tells the story of her death-lock struggle with medical authorities and her husband to keep her daughter from being warehoused in an institution, delving into myth and reality, angst and guilt, family and society ultimately defining the travails of all of humanity.

Eustacia Purves Cutler received her Bachelors degree in English from Harvard University. She has lead an interesting and fulfilled life as a singer, actress, writer and mother of four. One of Eustacia’s children, Temple Grandin, has high functioning autism. She has used her experiences with autism to write past television productions, such as: The Innocents, The Disquieted and Teachers Guides to Television, a production of NBC-TV. In addition Eustacia has integrated her creative theatrical knowledge to write Lydia and Secret. Eustacia is affiliated with the Dramatics Guild, Actors Equity Association, The League of Professional Theatre Women/NY, and the New York Coalition of Professional Women in the Arts and Media. Euctacia continues to write and had dedicated a vast amount of energy into writing and sharing her personal experiences with her daughter’s autism. She tours all over the world speaking at conferences on the subject of autism. Eustacia resides in New York City.