IF I COULD TELL YOU

Anne. Talia. Ruthie. Brett. Four very different New York women. But when their children are diagnosed with autism, they all find themselves struggling with the same problem. Suddenly, these women – an ex-model who owns a downtown bar, a high-powered magazine editor, an English professor, and a physical therapist – find that they need each other, as they face the ultimate challenge for any parent: How to help their autistic children get the care they need. They join together in a support group, and each chapter follows a month in their lives and ends with a meeting.

It's a rocky road, as they contend with: Quacks peddling expensive alternative therapies – and hope; husbands impatient with their children's disability; other women only too happy to take advantage of the pressures on their marriages; older children diagnosed with autism years ago; newborn babies who have a one-in-five chance of suffering from the disorder; scheming co-workers who try to turn this problem to their advantage; grandparents who are anything but helpful; and resentful teens who run wild while their mothers cope with the crisis. And through it all, they help each other – with strength, humor, love and wisdom.

Hannah Brown is the movie critic for the Jerusalem Post. Born and raised in New York City, she was a movie critic at the New York Post. Her short fiction has appeared in Commentary, the Jerusalem Post magazine, and Short Story Quarterly. She has published articles, essays and reviews for Newsweek, New York, the Forward and the Jerusalem Report. She lives with her two sons in Jerusalem.