The Slamming Door : Bone Cancer, Asperger's, and Loss

The Slamming Door is a true story. Find out how an Aspie who has learned social skills by rote, one who has earned respectable academic credentials but does not function well in many work environments, navigates a labyrinth of death, dying and loss, and how she copes with anxiety induced by travel and changes in her environment, and how she slowly, painstakingly comes to recognize the signs of hostility around her while making no apology for who she is. In September of 2008, Clarisse N. Renard was asked to move in with a man who had just been diagnosed with bone cancer?by his daughter, Berta, who knew that she was a writer and available. Berta had to work in an office, so she couldn?t be her father?s caregiver. The man was her husband?s older cousin, Bryn, a Harvard-educated, retired New York City social worker, and Clarisse and her husband Damon had stayed with him many times. He was also one of her best friends after eight years of visits, a confidante, and like another dad to her. The request, which was also an invitation of sorts, felt like a chance to pay her cousin-in-law back for all of the emotional and other support he had given to Clarisse and Damon. She didn?t know Berta very well, but had been excited to find that her marriage came with a female cousin her own age. Clarisse looked forward to getting to know her better. When he realized that he couldn?t stay home alone while terminally ill, Bryn wanted Clarisse with him and told her so the evening that she arrived. However, he warned her that Berta and her older half-sister were very jealous of the fact that she was there with him. Berta resented Clarisse in many ways, and gradually revealed her true self: a bully. Read on to find out how an articulate and meticulous Aspie dealt with all of these problems and situations, and how she viewed it all.