Born on a blue day review – Sydney Carnegie

Born on a blue day is an autobiography of Daniel Tammet who is considered an autistic savant. This book details Daniels entire life story from life to present.  

Daniel has a form of autism known as Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition that affects social and communication skills. Characteristics that Daniel exhibit’s through his book are; his obsession with his interests for example his fascination with ladybirds (ladybugs) and him collecting chestnuts, by his repetitive behaviors, By his difficulty with social interactions. Daniel also has Savant Syndrome. Savants are typically developmentally or mentally handicapped in some areas but display extraordinary abilities in others, for Daniel this is his ability to deal with numbers. They are often amazingly gifted in memory, mathematics, art or music. Another reason Daniel has such a connection with math and numbers (along with history and dates), Daniel experiences synesthesia, a rare neurological condition which results in the ability to see letters and numbers in colors, shapes, motions or textures. Through this he forms an emotional connections to certain numbers. Through the whole book he tells us about his emotional connections and really invites us into his amazing mind. He is truly an extraordinary individual.

In The book’s first seven chapters take the reader from Daniel’s birth into what soon became a very large family. Starting with how his epilepsy left him with his amazing abilities (which he refers to as being struck by lightning). We learn about his struggles with fitting in at school and about learning basic social skills. Throughout his childhood Daniel speaks nothing about love towards his parents. They were so supportive of him and did all they could to help him manage with his disabilities. It is a beautiful love that you really feel while reading the book. As Daniel ages we see him really desire independence. For example when he rides the bus for the first time, starts going to chess clubs to play with other people and composition. Then Daniel takes a major step of independence, a trip to Lithuania where he served as a volunteer as an English teacher. This trip was incredibly important for Daniel. It helped him discover that he was capable of some level of independence. His travels in Lithuania is where we really get to see Daniels love of languages. He learns Lithuanian extremely quickly, to help his student learn English. Daniel has an ability to remember these details as if they were just happening yesterday. His details of his travels are wonderful and you really get to experience his growth.

Following Daniel’s travels in Lithuania. Daniel meets Neil, a man who became his partner. Together they began an internet-based company based on teaching languages. We also get to learn about Daniel’s amazing feats, such as setting the European record for memorizing the value of pi, taking just three months to memorize its first 22,517 digits using his number landscapes, which is part of his synesthesia. He also participated of the Brainman documentary he was challenged to learn the language of Icelandic in just one week and succeeded enough that he was able to converse quite freely in Icelandic on national television. Following the success of the documentary, Daniel is invited to appear on the David Letterman show (where I first learnt about Daniel myself). The story ends with Daniel and Neil returning to their "normal" life in England, where he continues to be apart of research and speak about his syndrome.

We can learn lots about this rare condition in books and websites. Daniel has the unusual ability to describe his condition unlike most people who have the same disability and to provide an insider’s perspective on it. Which really gives the reader a special experience, which is unique and beautiful. Daniel has a mind for details so when reading this book. I loved reading this book and would very much recommend it to a friend. I don’t have much experience with people with Autism or Asperger’s so this book gave me insight into a very unique individual. Personally I really felt like I connected with Daniel because his writing really lets you into his life. You really learn about all the good and bad times he went through with himself and his family. You get an overwhelming feeling of love throughout this book, although Daniel expresses that he has issues demonstrating most social interactions with people when he is young but as he grows older he learn to understand social conventions and use them in his everyday life. I truly loved reading this book and I really appreciated the pictures Daniel includes throughout. They really allow you to get a clearer picture of how he sees things so much differently then us. His writing is extremely detailed as he expresses a love of details throughout. There’s really nothing after finishing the book where you are left wondering about being left out. Sometimes these details do seem a little bit too much and makes the book seem to slow down. However I never felt bored at all while reading this book. Overall I really enjoyed it and felt like I learnt a lot about an extraordinary individual.