Julia Romp

Julia Romp's nine-year-old son George was autistic and severely withdrawn. He is still autistic but a loving experience with his cat Ben opened him up to love and care. Julia was living with her parents at the beginning of the story. but the small house was already overloaded with people. So, she moved out, first to an apartment near his father but the neighbor was drug infested and she wanted a healthier environment for George. She moved again and made friends with Michelle, a trained child care giver. Michelle was her best friend out of her own family.

Every autistic child is different. I picked this book because my brother is severely autistic, my brother was a happy and contented baby, George was the opposite with constant crying and didn't want to be touched. Like my brother, nursery school was not successful and then grade school was the same. Both later went to a special school that helped some. But George's mother reluctantly adopted a white and black cat that started to show up wandering around their yard and garden. The cat did not look very appealing. It had huge belly that dragged the floor and its fur was very dirty. But George showed interest in the cat, so Julia took it to the vet. The belly had a huge cyst which the vet removed, and they also found out that the cat was a male. Ben, a feral cat slowly warned up to George and the rest is the story of their relationship and what happened when Ben disappeared.

I enjoyed this book so much because Julia's story of her son George and the cat. I connected immediately with the story because of George and Ben the cat. We also had a black and white cat named Happy Day. My brother loved Happy Day. Sadly, when my mother passed away, the group home that he was quickly placed in gave away the cat, so he had to grieve both for my mother and Happy Day.… (mais)

This book so warmed my heart. It is a true story about a Mom, her autistic son and a stray cat, named Ben. Julia is a single Mom with a autistic son, George, who is locked inside his own world. George cannot communicate well, doesn't get along with people nor can he express himself or his feelings. A stray cat enters their life and George begins to open up, show emotion and converse with his Mom in "cat talk". This story takes you on a journey of how a beloved cat opens up an autistic boy and brings true happiness into his life for what seems to be the first time in his life. Suddenly, the cat disappears and George reverts back to his ole self, growing more and more despondent. The story leaves your heart pounding page by page as you hope and pray along with Julia that their beloved cat, Ben will miraculously return and life will return to "normal" in their household.
This book is a wonderful read and gives one a little insight into autism and the miracle of a cat named Ben.… (mais)