Grace Williams Says it Loud

Synopsis: The doctors said no more could be done and advised Grace's parents to put her away. On her first day at the Briar Mental Institute, Grace, aged eleven, meets Daniel. Debonair Daniel, an epileptic who can type with his feet, sees a different Grace: someone to share secrets and canoodle with, someone to fight for. A deeply affecting, spirit-soaring story of love against the odds.

Review: A triumph, I absolutely loved it. Grace is profoundly disabled and as such I don't think I've ever read a book from that perspective before. Outwardly Grace is all drools, incoherent speech and twisted body (the doctor's describe her as a 'complete imbecile' ... 'there's something so ghastly - so animal about them isn't there nurse?') but inside her mind is quick, vibrant and teeming with thoughts and ideas. It's brave and it doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable ... Grace hasn't got full control of her bodily functions (that's an understatement, but then again sometimes she actively encourages them to let loose .. as an act of rebellion) and within the institution she is a victim of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. All of this is told with spirit but always in Grace's matter of fact, candid style. In another persons hands it could be gloomy but in fact it's not at all, there are parts that will make you feel sad and at the beginning I found I had to shift my ideas a bit because I wasn't so sure that I wanted to face the realities of her world but I soon got over it and taken as a whole I found it quite joyous. Along with the devils there are also a few angels, those that actively want to help and bring happiness. Also Gracie finds a kindred spirit in Daniel - a sandy haired epileptic with no arms. He see's through her outward wrapping to the inner person, they sneak around together behaving like naughty children, lovesick teenagers and partners in crime, sharing secrets and stories, plotting, canoodling and exploring. They don't need words (though Daniel is a complete chatterbox) .. he understands her intuitively.

You won't find it an easy read, it can be both disturbing and shocking and it will constantly make you angry. Also Grace's streams of consciousness can sometimes be challenging, but you'll be rewarded by a totally original story that positively rings with vitality and authenticity. I've read a lot of books lately that were alright but nothing more, this one stood out above the rest.

'Sitting beside Daniel on the coach or train, swapping sandwiches - meat paste for Marmite - sticky thighs, itchy heads, scorching hard windows, and the nurses quick hands as they helped out. The flighty, sweaty heat of them. They always asked permission to leave their uniforms behind. It was always refused. Nevertheless, there was a mufti lightness in their step, a saucy brightness in their eyes, and even Matron sometimes smiled. Look. The sea, the sea, there was the sea. Often because it was low season June or early October, livid and full of heaving, breaking waves. A spray-shock on my face, eye-sting - cold - and a surprised tongue of salt, making me mashmack my lips and spew with my mouth. Daniel said he didn't like the sea - it made him claustrophobic. He said the sea was a grave, and a watery one at that. Drowning is meant to be a pleasant, painless way to die, Daniel said, but he believed it must be like being buried alive, only worse. Imagine the pressure of all that water - the airlessness and then, when your body and all your insides are nothing but silence and dark, that terrible sinking feeling. I knew that feeling, but I didn't agree - and anyway - hip hip hooray - Daniel liked the other sides of the sea. He liked the seaside. Like everybody.'

It's not really a beach book at all, though I ended up reading it on the beach because I quickly finished the one I had taken with me but it was perfect because it absorbed me so much that the noisy beach life going on all around me just disappeared.

I know a lot of people have struggled with it but like Gracie I'm going to say it loud ... I LOVED THIS BOOK .. in actual fact I loved it so much I wrote a message in pebbles to prove it.


I borrowed a library copy but I must get one of my own, even if I never read it again because I love to see favourite stories on the shelf. I am a bit worried about recommending it though because I've read a lot of negative reviews, so perhaps anyone interested should take the precaution of borrowing it from the library.