A Friend Like Henry: The Remarkable True Story of an Autistic Boy and the Dog That Unlocked His World

by Nuala Gardner

Book Overview

"This touching story is an emotional rollercoaster."--Book Review

The New York Times bestselling story of a boy, his dog, and the love that changed their lives forever.

When Jamie and Nuala Gardner chose a puppy for their son, Dale, they weren't an ordinary family choosing an ordinary pet. Dale was on the autism spectrum and his parents were desperate to support him--after being shuttled between ineffective,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402214065
• ISBN13: 9781402214066
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Sourcebooks
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

wonderful

she takes you into the crazy world of living with an austic child and then the miracle that happened with a dog.

What An Excellent Example of Human/Animal Bond Healing

A Friend Like Henry is such an excellent and wonderful example of human/animal bond healing. It is an especially remarkable book to me as I am involved with an organization which plans pet therapy partner programs to visit autistic children. I cannot express enough the importance of healing through the human/animal bond. Also, I work in the pharmaceutical industry among believers that autism, in many instances, can be reversed through medical intervention with proper diet and supplementation.

We should be thankful

For any animal lover this is a wonderful read. Having been in the healthcare field for many years, do we realize how lucky we are? The problems this family faced at every step of their childs life are very different from what we have in America. We are very fortunate for the help available to American children in the school systems. Once again this story proves how anmals are such a vital and important part of our lives

Honest, blunt, rewarding

a friend like henry,written by Nuala Gardner and published by Sourcebooks is a parents' book about autism...with all the fluffy bits removed. Honest, blunt, significant, rewarding. A well written, meaningful and very readable book. a friend like henry is a book that tells the reader how frustrating, enlightening and magical living with autism can be, both for the person on the spectrum and those that live in the world parallel to ours. I am happy to say that at no time in this book is it ever implied that Dale should be 'cured' of his autism, it is obvious throughout the book that the search is for coping mechanisms and behavioral modification. One of the things I enjoyed most was that Nuala does not claim that pet therapy is the only solution to the above dilemma but she does openly and honestly share one way of using an autistic child's obsession to their family's best advantage. One of the things I disliked the most about this book (besides the use of all lower case for the title and author name), was the way it rewired all my emotions and made me cry every few pages. I found that I had to pace myself through this book by reading it in between several others in order to give my emotions a break. I nearly couldn't continue on reading it at the end but I am not going to tell you why, as it will 'ruin' the ending for you. However, I am happy that I did carry on. After reading this book I am still convinced that our N3S is still the child most likely to be savaged by a dog but I picked up a few tips encouraging on behavioral modification which we will apply through other mediums. The section where Dale 'speaks' at the end of the book along with Nuala's afterword are nice twists and are the perfect ending to what I feel is a triumph of literary honesty. This is a very special book. I speak as both an adult Aspie and a mother of an Aspie child when I say that this book will break your heart into several pieces and then show you interesting new ways to put it back together again.

Profoundly Moving

I kind of feel like I don't even know where to start talking about this book. I knew very little about what families with autistic children go through, and after reading this book, a first hand account of a mother with two autistic children, I feel I can empathize much more with the struggle they go through. And while all the daily tasks and events, the simple communications and learning events most parents take for granted are extraordinarily more difficult, this book is in no way a downer. First of all, I think the Gardners are fantastic parents. They worked tirelessly to help their son live the most normal life he possibly could. After years of working with him and using his obsessions (such as with Mickey Mouse and Thomas the Tank Engine) to teach him about human emotions and connecting with other people to minimal results, they discovered he loved dogs. And so they researched and searched until they were able to find a golden retriever puppy...the breed they thought would be a perfect fit. A wonderful testament to the glory of dogs, this dog loved their son and became a companion to him and helped this family "get their son back." This book is the story of a life...of Jamie and Nuala's life, of Dale's life, and of Henry's life. It's about struggle and triumph...parental love and the love of a dog. It's profoundly moving, inspiring, and educational. I highly, highly recommend it. Just be sure to have a box of tissues nearby when you read....you'll need it.