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. But as women, they struggle with another daunting task: How to keep their marriages alive and not find themselves on the wrong side of a frightening statistic--eighty percent of the parents of autistic children divorce.

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 other problems: 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.