Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum

by Daniel Tammet

A Japanese researcher in psychology sets out to measure loneliness while drawing on her own experience of autism. A quirky boy growing up in 1950s Ottawa sows the seeds of his future Hollywood stardom. In the US, a non-verbal man explores body language, gesture by eloquent gesture, in his mother's yoga classes.

Nine Minds delves into the extraordinary lives of nine neurodivergent men and women from around the globe. From a Fields Medal-winning mathematician to a murder detective, a pioneering surgeon to a bestselling novelist, each is remarkable in their field, and each is changing how the world sees those on the spectrum.

Exploding the tired stereotypes of autism, Daniel Tammet - acclaimed author and an autistic savant himself - reaches across the divides of age, gender, sexuality and nationality to draw out the inner worlds of his subjects. Telling stories as richly diverse as the spectrum itself, this illuminating, life-affirming work of narrative nonfiction celebrates the power and beauty of the neurodivergent mind, and the daring freedom with which these individuals have built their lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Psychology, Biography, Disability, Essays, Audiobook

Unknown Binding

Published July 11, 2024

About the author

Daniel Tammet is the subject of the award-winning television documentary, The Boy with the Incredible Brain, as well as a BBC Radio 4 documentary, Two Poets (with Les Murray) and the Kate Bush song, Pi. He is the author of nine books, including the memoir Born on a Blue Day, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; two collections of essays, Thinking in Numbers, a New Yorker recommendation, and Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing, a Booklist Editors' Choice and Listener Magazine Book of the Year; a bilingual poetry collection in English and French, Portraits, and a novel written in French, Mishenka. His writing has appeared in Esquire, The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, Aeon and Quadrant, and his books have been translated into thirty languages. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2012, and awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, The Open University, in 2023. Daniel Tammet lives in Paris.

Reviews

[anastasia tasou · Rating 2 out of 5]

love the concept but not the book :(

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tedious and gloomy, the stories just reinforce the stereotypical "little professor" type or focusses on the great struggle from an outsiders perspective, so the "otherness" of these autistic people is even more emphasised.

It's a bland and monotone read, don't recommend. There are plenty other (and much more engaging) books about autism.

[Darren Ambler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, don’t expect a scientific exposition of autism, expect engaging stories of nine other humans with which we share this experience.

[Pooj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine Minds is a collection of short stories following nine individuals as they recount their experiences as autistic humans in this world. As an autistic adult myself, this was such a profound introspective piece of work. I can see parts of myself in every one of the individuals and it made me feel less alone in the world knowing there are so many more autistic people out there. I feel like the key point made in this book is that there is no one flavor of autism and just because you are able to have higher functioning than others doesn't make your experience any more invalid. I read this basically in one sitting, I felt so connected and enthralled by the individuals' recollections. I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending this to my family. 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

[E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the concept for this book, but unfortunately the execution fell short for me. I see what Tammet was going for by asking the participants to share their experiences and lives with him with no particular directive for how they do the telling, but it left every essay feeling directionless and strangely kind of repetitive. Since the subjects themselves don’t really provide any kind of guidance in how their stories are told, it was up to Tammet to shape them into a cohesive narrative and he basically applied the same formula to each section in a way that made them blend together to me at the end of the book.

[Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

bardzo dobra, niektore rozdzialy jednak sa mniej ciekawe niz inne; takie 3.5🌟

[Jagoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,3
Dobry rzetelny reportaż
Ciekawe osoby
Lecz czegoś mi zabrakło, jakiejś dłuższej historii, ale pamiętajmy, że są to historie prawdziwych, żyjących cały czas ludzi.

[Mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a brilliantly written collection of stories about nine very different people, from different parts of the world, all with one thing in common: Autism. Each story gives us a look into how autism can differ from person to person; in the way it presents and in the way it affects their daily lives. I felt particularly drawn to the story of Billy, a young boy rendered mute, unable to advocate for himself, but having a strong mother who fought for him in every way possible.
I'll give you a little rundown of these remarkable people:
Vaughan - a brilliant hand/wrist surgeon, excellent in his field but struggles with daily conversations
Kana - a Japanese woman studying and researching loneliness, particularly amongst those who are neurodivergent
Warren - a police detective whose autism has helped him solve numerous murders throughout his career.
@naoisedolan - an Irish author currently working on her third book.
Billy - a boy who lost his ability to speak at the age of 2, and now in his 30s communicates via a device.
Amanda - a blind woman with autism who uses a form of echolocation allowing her to 'see'
Cédric - a mathematician who ran for office in France
Ayo - a bullied girl who became a beauty queen
Danny - a Hollywood icon

I'd highly recommend this book.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Daniel Tammet’s style of writing. The word syntax is a bit different than how my mind works, and the focus is on different aspects of the individuals‘ personalities. I think back on all the people I’ve known throughout my life, especially in school, and wonder how they could have been channeled to be more accepted in productive.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written account of nine neuro divergent lives, all unique in their own way. If you are neuro divergent then this will give you some insight into your own condition and if you are not it will help you in your interactions with those who are.

[Nick Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Empathetic, illuminating, humanising. A series of beautiful vignettes that subtly and lovingly show wildly different ways of experiencing and existing in the world.

[Eowyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, well written and very very moving.

I wish my young self could have read this book. And taken the same comfort from it.

[Shan Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful reminder that us Autistics are as varied and talented as any other person, even (or despite) the neurotype commonalities we share.

[Jeanette]

No rating. DNF I only got 3 people in and called it. This writing is probably one of the worst to read in English I have ever come across- and that's not an exaggeration.

I'm not sure if it is the translation or just that the continuity for Tammet in telling is just so off. There is not a beginning, middle or end to tell, tell, tell. And the tangent information just put hodgepodge serendipty is so ridiculous that I have to reread every single page. Most of the time I never knew what aspect of side bar related person, place, thing he was describing around NOW.

Sad, and perhaps he has some spectrum level affliction? Really, it's rather surprising this was published. Maybe for empathy's sake. That's believeable. This states (Unknown Binding)- it should also state "unknown continuity of English".

It is also mood negative. And half the time you don't even know who is narrator just then.

[Katelyn Birchfield]

DNF. I was so excited about this one but just could not get into it. Pretty disappointed!

[Sarah. G · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who was only diagnosed last year, it was sort of comforting to read a lot of positive stories about successful autistic people.

I will say though i had no idea who danny aykroyd was before this but that was a pleasant surprise! But to me his story seemed to drag on a bit too much, but i suppose that’s because most people know of him

[Carroll Nelson Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite worthwhile read about people on the Aspergers/autism spectrum. Not didactic, not polemical, but rather anecdotal. Tammet acquaints the reader with nine distinct neurodivergent individuals, with their own life stories, characteristics, challenges, successes, and styles of narration. There is no definition of a "type'; the nine accounts overlap in some ways and diverge in others, as would those of any nine people. Each story does not draw to an ending, or prove a point, or lead to a moral. The reader gets to know these people some and maybe gains some feeling of what it's like to be each of them. A greater feeling of acquaintance is an important benefit of "coming out": it is harder to ostracize/"other"/hate someone when it is someone you know. So it is useful for more of us to be ready to relate to neurodivergent friends and family members as they are rather than demonize and dismiss them as extremists such as RFK Jr. would have us do.

[Jacques Coulardeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUTISM FOR ALL THE “RAIN MEN” IN THE WORLD

Daniel Tammet is an Asperger’s patient, hence autistic, at the savant end of the spectrum. His nine minds are mostly males, a few females, to prove the point that autism is not exclusively male. He wants to demonstrate with these cases that autism can lead to excellence. So, he chose those who had already proved they were capable of some greatness.

When you are autistic, there is a “disorder” medical side in it, but there is also, and that is the most important one, a “syndrome” side. The Syndrome side does not come from genes or even congenital elements in your life, or that of your parents. The “syndrome” side is the result of experience and the social-cultural-ideological environment. If you are vision-impaired at birth, something quite congenital indeed, if the world forgets or neglects to notice and does not do what is necessary to accompany the newborn, or even – cruelty or humor, though both idiotic? – makes fun of the strange way that newborn does things by closing his eyes to let his hands pile up his blocks or put upright his skittles, you cannot be surprised that he will lock himself, or herself, in his own ego-nutshell and reject the hostile outside world. He will be looking for an escape, for a place where he will be by himself, alone but protected against the “hostile” because “non-empathetic” world and the monstrous shadows agitating themselves and agitating you from the outside.

That’s what Tammet is looking for, but at the same time, he is discreet and moderate as to the invasion of privacy such a search would be. So, he actually does not go to the real deep roots of the personal equations of these nine people. Some of the cases are poignant. Some other cases are simply banal. Tammet does not look for the cruel cases for whom the situation in which they are plunged is pure torture, if not retribution for the disorder these cases may introduce in the normalcy of the lives of people around them. It also shows, of course, how inappropriate the care needed for and by these autistic people is, how frustrating this care is, and some may say it is voluntarily alienating for the persons concerned, actually the autistic child and his parents.

If you read this book with all the love and care any child should get, all the empathy and help they deserve, you might come to the idea that every single person is responsible for what these autistic children get, which means when an autistic child is mistreated, all the people around are ethically and morally responsible, accountable for this negative situation. The point is that social services and medical services will at once pretend they have more than enough cases, and too few personnel to be able to find the time to look after these autistic cases. True or false? Probably both, but have these professional people really done what was needed, what is needed, for the situation to change? Of course not, since they had to think of the damage caused by alcoholism, starvation or malnutrition, basic material wants and needs, sexual perversion (what is that word, perversion?), physical abuse, etc. So, autistic children are at the bottom of the emergency list. They did nothing, or at best, these professionals defended and developed a fully ostracized service that is so closed up, marginalized, and stigmatized, that no mentally decent parent will accept their children to be tied up in that psychiatric straitjacket.

And if the autistic person is an Asperger’s patient, who cares? Let them be savant, and like Einstein invent a formula nearly one century before it can be proved true or false. Let everyone invent their equation and basta! E = mc2 and, as we all know, the sun shines where it is not night and cloudy. At night, all cats are black. In the shade, all colors are grey. In a straitjacket, all movements are constrained, restrained, and ego-strained. into a depressive syndrome, even a psychotic disorder, if not a schizophrenic delirium tremens. And the three are emerging “out of the depths,” in two words “De Profundis.” So, let them stay there. Is that barbaric? Probably. But who cares?

Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

VERSION FRANÇAISE

L'AUTISME POUR TOUS LES « DUSTIN & TOM » DU MONDE

Daniel Tammet est atteint du syndrome d'Asperger, donc autiste, et se situe à l'extrémité surdouée du spectre de l’autisme. Ses neuf « personnages » sont majoritairement masculins, avec quelques femmes, afin de prouver que l'autisme n'est pas exclusivement masculin. Il souhaite démontrer, à travers ces cas, que l'autisme peut mener à l'excellence. C'est pourquoi il a choisi des personnes ayant déjà prouvé leur capacité à accomplir de grandes choses.

L'autisme comporte un aspect médical de « trouble », mais aussi, et c'est le plus important, un aspect de « syndrome ». Ce syndrome n'est pas d'origine génétique ni lié à des facteurs congénitaux, ni à votre vie ni à celle de vos parents. Il résulte de l'expérience existentielle et de l'environnement socioculturel et idéologique. Si un enfant naît malvoyant, une malformation congénitale, et que le monde oublie ou néglige de le remarquer, ne fait pas le nécessaire pour l'accompagner, voire – par cruauté ou par humour, aussi absurde que cela puisse paraître – se moque de sa façon étrange de manipuler les objets, les yeux fermés, ses mains empilant ses cubes ou dressant ses quilles, il n'est pas surprenant qu'il se replie sur lui-même, dans une coquille de noix, et rejette le monde extérieur hostile. Il cherchera un refuge, un lieu où il pourra être seul, protégé de ce monde « hostile » car « insensible », ainsi que des ombres monstrueuses qui s'agitent et le tourmentent de l'extérieur.

C'est ce que recherche Tammet, mais avec discrétion et modération, sans s'aventurer au cœur même de l'intrusion que constituerait une telle quête dans la vie privée. Ainsi, il ne s'attaque pas aux véritables racines des relations personnelles de ces neuf personnes. Certains cas sont poignants, d'autres simplement banals. Tammet ne s'intéresse pas aux cas cruels où la situation dans laquelle ils sont plongés relève de la pure torture, voire d'une forme de châtiment pour le désordre qu'ils peuvent engendrer dans la vie de leur entourage. Il montre aussi, bien sûr, à quel point les soins prodigués à ces personnes autistes sont inadaptés, frustrants, et certains diront même qu'ils aliènent volontairement les personnes concernées, en l'occurrence l'enfant autiste et ses parents.

Si vous lisez ce livre avec tout l'amour et l'attention qu'un enfant mérite, avec toute l'empathie et l'aide auxquelles il a droit, vous pourriez en venir à l'idée que chacun est responsable du sort réservé à ces enfants autistes. Autrement dit, lorsqu'un enfant autiste est maltraité, toutes les personnes dans son environnement proche sont moralement et éthiquement responsables de cette situation négative. Le problème, c'est que les services sociaux et médicaux prétendent être débordés et manquer de personnel pour s'occuper de ces personnes autistes. Vrai ou faux ? Probablement les deux, mais ces professionnels ont-ils vraiment fait le nécessaire pour que la situation change ? Bien sûr que non, puisqu'ils devaient penser aux dégâts causés par l'alcoolisme, la faim ou la malnutrition, les besoins matériels fondamentaux, les perversions sexuelles (que veut donc dire ce mot, perversion ?), les violences physiques, etc. Résultat : les enfants autistes sont relégués au second plan. Ces professionnels n'ont rien fait, ou au mieux, ils ont défendu et développé un service totalement ostracisé, tellement fermé, marginalisé et stigmatisé qu'aucun parent sain d'esprit n'accepterait que son enfant soit enfermé dans ce carcan psychiatrique.

Et si la personne autiste est atteinte du syndrome d'Asperger, en quoi importerait-elle ? Qu'elle soit donc un génie, et qu'à l'instar d'Einstein, elle invente une formule près d'un siècle avant qu'on puisse en prouver la véracité. Que chacun invente son équation et le tour est joué ! E = mc² et, comme chacun le sait, le soleil brille là où il ne fait pas nuit et où le ciel est sans nuages. La nuit, tous les chats sont noirs. À l'ombre, toutes les couleurs sont grises. Dans une camisole de force, tous les mouvements sont contraints, bridés, et l'ego est étouffé. Cela peut mener à un syndrome dépressif, voire à un trouble psychotique, si ce n'est pas un délirium tremens schizophrénique. Et ces trois phénomènes émergent « des profondeurs », en deux mots : De Profundis. Alors, laissons-les donc y rester. Est-ce barbare ? Probablement. Mais qu'importe ?

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable perspectives on the spectrum

I really enjoyed reading nine different stories of people on the spectrum. The main thing I disliked was the author self inserting randomly into the story, which was jarring since I was enjoying that person's perspective and then inevitably got confused every chapter. Otherwise a good read

[Michal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful stories!

[Sara Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had rated this higher, until I realized how much of this book came from what he learned about the individuals from OTHER people, not from hearing from the individuals (or from things like memoirs and journals) directly. And that made them feel more like characters than people, because in some cases, we have no idea what they were actually thinking and feeling; we just hear how the author interpreted what a family member interpreted. I appreciated what he set out to do, but we NEED to be hearing and learning about Autism from and with Autistic folks. This book had a wonderful opportunity to amplify Autistic voices and I just don't feel like it did.

[Jessica]

Particularly thoughtfully written, with a unique pacing and sentence structure. The personalities aren't easy to distinguish, but it comes across to me more as retaining privacy for each individual and valuing a realistic observation.

[Elle Leggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s nice. Gives insight into the diversity of autism, with good story telling. But that’s about it for its greatness

[Lunaticvamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Było spoko, można było spojrzeć na osoby ze spektrum autyzmu z innej strony, dodatkowo pokazuje autor że osoby ze spektrum były wśród nas już od dawna tylko wtedy postrzegało się je jako „inne”

[Kelly Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look into the lives of 9 neurodivergent people. #9 was a most welcome surprise!

[books4chess · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Our lives are lived forwards but understood backwards.

Tammet delivers an engaging collection of self-contained biographies of neurodivergent minds. He explores their individual stories with no pressure for a direction or moral, but giving the floor to several different individuals who have achieved very different outcomes in their life, with a clear theme - success is subjective but everyone can achieve. And I’m here for it.

The book recalls the various ways that a selected group of neurodivergent individuals are loved and encouraged by those around them - exploring the loving parents who refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer, a relative who encourages a young boy to keep asking questions and the doctor who repeatedly looked for solutions to challenges others accepted as fact.

“She toughed out the awful rain, cold and clinging. It was only rain after all. She’d known worse, though some days it really lashed down. Only rain, it couldn’t help being wet. And besides, she wasn’t made of sugar”.

There is plenty of literature available in present day around neurodivergency with an undercurrent of pessimism. They hit you with ‘it is what it is’, and suggestions of how you can encourage others to ‘learn’ your ticks. In all honesty, I find these sources disheartening and have put many a book down after the first few chapters, exhausted by the self-defeated exclamations and opinions as fact. But this non-fiction hit me where I wanted, detailing a topic many speak on in a fresh light. These individuals, to many, may not be considered the traditional view of ’successful’, but every single one is a proactive do-er, refusing to be limited in a way that reads not as toxic positivity, but as a pragmatic approach to taking on a different reality from the mainstream whilst co-existing side by side.

“Yoga was about progress, as Eve’s instructor had once said. Stretching a little further, breathing a little easier. Relinquishing inch by inch, the false comfort of bad posture - and even worse habits of thoughts”.

The collection isn’t something that grips you in a way that you’re compelled to finish it in one, but it’s something you’ll read slowly, digest and reflect on for a while.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book and found most of its portraits very interesting and touching. I enjoyed reading about the many different ways that autism can manifest throughout a person's life. The portrait of Ayo was particularly touching.

Unfortunately, there were two bad chapters that soured the book for me. The two celebrity chapters, about Cédric Villani and Dan Aykroyd, stood out for having less depth than the rest of the book. The Villani portrait was particularly weak, reading more like a fawning political biography than a nuanced investigation into the subject's inner mind. And then the book's final and longest chapter, about Dan Aykroyd, was reconstructed without ever talking to the subject, making it feel hazy and impersonal.

If the book focused entirely on everyday people that the author could easily access, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. There are many unsung heroes Tammet could have depicted instead.

[Kamila · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept is great: stories of real, living people, with insight on their inner lives.
I started reading with much anticipation, but - even though the people described in the book are interesting and admirable individuals - the chapters felt like generic bios and didn't really convey that much detail and personality.
I understand the challenge of reaching out to real people with a request of sharing their inner lives and experiences. I don't think this book delivers what it promises, but it is an important documentation of these people and their achievements.
For me, a bit of a disappointment.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tammet tells the stories and perspectives of nine individuals on the autism spectrum, reinforcing the truth that "if you've met one person an the autism spectrum, you've met one person on the autism spectrum." The author is on the spectrum himself, making for an empathetic approach, open to the stories without judgement. Each individual is different, embracing differences, and successful in their own ways and to varying degrees in terms of society--as are we all.
The final story, "Danny," the author chose to include based only on outside sources, as the subject declined to be interviewed. I was a bit uncomfortable with Tammet kind of filling in gaps, but he was clear when he was doing so.

[Justin Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off well with the story of a Police detective and how his autism assisted him in doing his job. However from there, although there were interesting observations and moments, nothing else for me really held my attention and I found the book became a little bit repetitive.
I'm still glad that I read it for the interesting insights I gained but I don't think it really worked as a complete book. 2.5 would probably be my score for this one.