Mozart and the Whale an unexpected story

What are the odds of two people meeting, falling in love, marrying, divorcing, both falling into depression and both attempting suicide - only to reunite, remarry and build a happy life together?

In early 2006 a motion picture starring Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell was released in cinemas around the world. It was based on the meeting and marriage of two extraordinary individuals - Jerry and Mary Newport - both savants with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism that affects millions of people world-wide and can make social interaction painfully unbearable.

Mozart and the Whale is much more than a simple love story. Both Jerry and Mary suffered trauma in their childhood and adolescence and suffered from low self esteem. When they first met they were (and still are!) eccentric individuals. But while their minds are not naturally wired for love, their hearts still yearn for it. Through each other they were able to begin to understand themselves and discover how love can heal the human soul.

Their story will inform and entertain you. Their experiences will make you cry, laugh and admire people with Asperger's Syndrome. Their story shows that even the most unusual people can find love and life partners. But they must find themselves first.

Jerry Newport

At 56 years of age, Jerry has a BA in Mathematics from the University of Michigan and has been a taxi company owner, political consultant, finance consultant at the UCLA Department of Medicine and most recently a tax consultant. Jerry grew up on Long Island, New York, and spent most of his life trying to fit in and not understanding why he didn't. It was not until he saw Rain Man in 1989, and he multiplied 4343 by 1234 faster than Dustin Hoffman's character read the script, that he found a connection to autism and eventually its high-functioning subtype, Asperger's Syndrome. Jerry's best known savant skill is with numbers. He is in great demand for his lively and informative presentations and has spoken at over 150 conferences in five nations and eleven time zones. He credits individual sports like track, rowing, bowling, billiards and swimming with his progress. Golf is a new sport but 'fits his family pattern'.

Mary Newport

Mary grew up in Tucson, Arizona, with six siblings. She had an early love of animals and unusual rapport with them. She showed early talents in music and math before 'losing control' in middle school. Unable to finish high school, she was adopted into a travelling religious community where she wound up in an arranged marriage which produced her first son, Stephen. Mary left the group in 1975 and then had her second son, Peter. She completed a Major in music at the University of Arizona and completed an apprenticeship in piano-repair and tuning which supported her through the mid-eighties when electronic keyboards became popular. When Mary and her family moved to Los Angeles, she shaved her head and won an extras role as a Bolian on Star Trek, Deep Space Nine, and has starred in two Star Trek movies and episodes of Babylon Five. Mary's savant skills are with art and music. Both her sons are unusually talented, although neither have autism or Asperger's.

Jerry and Mary met in 1993 at a Halloween party and married for the first time in 1994. They divorced in 1999 and remarried in 2001. They now live in Southern Arizona. They have one dog, a cockatoo, eight cockatiels and two parakeets.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
In addition to running several support groups in Arizona, Jerry Newport is an active lecturer and presenter on autism. He is also the author of two books on Asperger's: Asperger's and Sexuality and Your Life is Not Your Label.

Mary Newport is the wife of Jerry Newport and a talented artist and composer in her own right.Johnny Dodd has been a journalist at PEOPLE Magazine for ten years and his work has also appeared in The Los Angeles Times and The Seattle Times. His first book, Higher Purpose: The heroic story of the first disabled man to conquer Everest, was published in 2001.Tony Attwood, Australian autism expert and author, is a supporter of this book and wrote the foreword.

Allen & Unwin
Author: Jerry and Mary Newport, with Johnny Dodd
ISBN: 9781741146844
RRP: $29.95


Review: Heart-warming tale of two people destined to be together, despite all odds against them.