[DOC] The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism by Kate Winslet; Margret Ericsdottir at Arts-Photography

Review

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful. "Hats off" to Kate and Margrets Crusade in Kelis name!By Beating the Odds at Autism"Hats off" to Kate Winslet and her beautifully-designed book. along with Margret and Keli - of course! - who allowed us to step inside their lives for a moment. And kudos to all of the "hollywood stars" as well as the "stars of autism" who so graciously contributed in order to "speak to readers" about this very important crusade! While reading last night on my Kindle. I couldnt help but be moved by the email exchanges between Margret and Kate...as I. too. am the mother of a child with autism. When Margret shared that Keli wasnt diagnosed until four years of age...I felt her angst. as my son was diagnosed at three-and-a-half. which was very. very late. considering hes now 20. I can relate to Margrets comment that Keli is "like a sponge" and absorbing everything around him. When my son was younger. we referred to autism as the "A word" because I just knew in my heart that. although he wasnt able to express himself. he was "taking in" everything that everyone was saying about him...and I never wanted people to talk "about him" as if he wasnt there; but rather. to him...even though we never got a response from him.Listening to Margret talk about how autism makes you look at life in a different light...no truer words could be spoken. When you see the "veil of autism" begin to be lifted slightly...there are no words to describe your emotions...and I could "feel" Margrets emotions in her email exchanges. and Kate was so receptive and communicatively on point. that I was able to hear her voice and her passion and excitement as I was reading.In closing. although my son was able to "find his voice" and. despite the pediatric neurologist telling us that he would never "develop any useful language" he is now in his second year at our Community College. Ive posted The Golden Hat link on our Facebook Book Page and I hope to keep the momentum going for this passionate dream of Margret. Kate and - Im sure I speak for - all parents of nonverbal children.Sincerely. Linda Burns. Author of "Beating the Odds at Autism" One Familys Winning Hand.11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Incredibly moving story for all parents!!By jessicaI picked a copy today and it was so much more amazing than I thought it would be. First. the story of how Kate Winslet befriended this family and then wanted to do more is inspiring. I was so impressed that she isnt affected by autism in her own family but couldnt just sit back and do nothing. Then secondly. the pictures of the celebrities were so beautiful. They all look like professional layouts but they are all self portraits taken on ordinary cameras... usually smart phones( you can see them in the pictures). The words are so moving and funny!! I too cant imagine if I couldnt communicate with my own child and it just brings a tear to my eye to think of never hearing her voice!! Thank you Kate Winslet for speaking up for them!! This is an amazing book and I plan to buy more now that I have seen it first hand for my daughters teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week coming up soon and for family members for Easter!! It is truly an amazing book!!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fun format. vitally important messageBy EpicFehlReaderSome years after her son Kelis diagnosis of nonverbal autism. Margret Ericsdottir got the idea to put together a documentary film showcasing the daily joys and trials of autistic children and their parents. The film was originally released in Margrets native Iceland under the title The Sunshine Boy. Once HBO bought U.S. rights to it. Kate Winslet was brought on to do the English voice-over work and it was re-released in American markets as A Mothers Courage. Margret initially didnt want the film to be about her but more about other families living with autism. However. she and her son Keli do appear in the final product. It was through her trips to the studio where Winslet was doing the narration recordings that Margret got to know Winslet. famous for her work in such films as Titanic. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. and Revolutionary Road.Winslet not only became good friends with Margret but also got to know Keli. After her voice-over work wrapped. Kate and Margret continued their new friendship via email and phone calls. until one day Winslet. inspired by her time with Keli. shared her idea with Margret to start up an autism awareness foundation. The foundation would be called The Golden Hat foundation. in honor of a poem Keli wrote shortly after he was taught a way to get his words out via a dry-erase board.Winslets idea was to send her favorite trilby hat around the world to numerous celebrities. asking them to put on the hat. take a selfie. and share a quote that expressed something important to them -- a life motto. a mantra. something funny -- anything that they wanted to say that they thought expressed an important element of their personality. life. beliefs. etc. Winslet collected all the images and quotes. put them together in this coffee table style book and sent it out into the world with the idea that the proceeds would raise awareness and funds for the newly created Golden Hat Foundation. The foundations goal would not only be to raise autism awareness alone. but also to help fund assisted living facilities for those with severe cases of autism. those who are unable to successfully function independently in society. Winslets goal is to create funds for these facilities so that they might develop more extensive programs that would offer not only a sense of community but also specialized education and job training and opportunities for residents.Also included in the early pages of this book is an essay written by Margret. in which she shares some of her observances and lessons learned from being mother to autistic Keli. She talks of how specialists told her how he would likely never mentally develop past the age of 2. yet over the years she discovers his refined likes and tastes -- his favorite food being sushi. his favorite authors J.R.R. Tolkien and Mark Twain. Her point illustrating that classic line. "If youve met one child with autism. youve met one child with autism." Theres no one textbook way for this condition to manifest. And while shes quick to give examples of all the beautiful things shes learned from being Kelis mother. she also keeps it real. admitting her frustrations at times with Kelis inability to vocalize things. especially when it comes to serious medical issues. As she explains. some days a mothers intuition only goes so far when trying to read if your child is in pain.Along with the celebrity photos and quotes. Winslet also includes the first words ever uttered by 10 autistic people who were primarily non-verbal for most of their lives. She also shows the emails between her and Margret as they slowly began putting this foundation together over the course of many months. Theres even a section of the book dedicated to Kelis poems he crafted after he became familiar with working with a dry-erase board to form phrases long trapped in his mind.The poems. essays and emails all help to illustrate just how important this cause is. The celebrity photos are fun too. though sometimes the quotes didnt always resonate with me and some photos seemed to have little effort put into them. But some though. some had that quiet power to them that really grabs the browser of this book. A good flip-through collection that helps fund a worthy cause. Give it a look!