The book “My Thirteenth Winter” is a beautiful memoir written by 25-year-old Samantha Abeel. Though Samantha is still quite young, she has so many life experiences to share. Through this book, Samantha introduces herself to the reader as one who has lived with a learning disability called dyscalculia. She does not have the ability to tell time. She cannot accurately count change. Samantha is unable to perform what most would consider simple mathematical functions. Yet in other areas, she is quite brilliant.
The reader is immediately aware of the struggles Samantha faces in school. She did exceptionally well in most of her classes, particularly in English. Samantha’s biggest struggle was in math and anything pertaining to numbers. Teachers, …show more content…
In fact, when she was in the eighth grade, she published her first book; “What Once Was White” later renamed “Reach for the Moon.” In “My Thirteenth Winter,” readers are given the opportunity to delve into the very mind of this extraordinary young woman. The book is so well written. The reader becomes so involved in Samantha’s life. There will be anger. There will be laughter. There will be tears, especially upon reading the poignant essay she wrote on her application to Mount Holyoke College. Young people of all academic abilities should read this book. It explores thoughts and ideas everyone has at some time in one’s life. As Samantha describes her feelings of depression, and her dealings with friends, and her frustrations at school, readers of all ages can certainly relate what they are reading to a specific place or time in their own lives. While not exactly the same issue, this book is reminiscent of another memoir dealing with the struggle to find the truth. “Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey with His Wordless Daughter” by Robert Rummel-Hudson also takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. The frustrations of dealing with doctors and educators and administrators, meeting misdiagnoses after misdiagnoses, these struggles are found in both books. They are struggles no one should have to go through, and, unfortunately, they happen far too
The reader is immediately aware of the struggles Samantha faces in school. She did exceptionally well in most of her classes, particularly in English. Samantha’s biggest struggle was in math and anything pertaining to numbers. Teachers, …show more content…
In fact, when she was in the eighth grade, she published her first book; “What Once Was White” later renamed “Reach for the Moon.” In “My Thirteenth Winter,” readers are given the opportunity to delve into the very mind of this extraordinary young woman. The book is so well written. The reader becomes so involved in Samantha’s life. There will be anger. There will be laughter. There will be tears, especially upon reading the poignant essay she wrote on her application to Mount Holyoke College. Young people of all academic abilities should read this book. It explores thoughts and ideas everyone has at some time in one’s life. As Samantha describes her feelings of depression, and her dealings with friends, and her frustrations at school, readers of all ages can certainly relate what they are reading to a specific place or time in their own lives. While not exactly the same issue, this book is reminiscent of another memoir dealing with the struggle to find the truth. “Schuyler’s Monster: A Father’s Journey with His Wordless Daughter” by Robert Rummel-Hudson also takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. The frustrations of dealing with doctors and educators and administrators, meeting misdiagnoses after misdiagnoses, these struggles are found in both books. They are struggles no one should have to go through, and, unfortunately, they happen far too