Books About Living with Tourette Syndrome

If you type Tourette Syndrome into the search box on Amazon, you will likely find a ton of books written by doctors and therapists. Many are about managing your TS, or understanding your TS, or coping with TS. How about LIVING with TS? I am happy to say that there are more and more books being written by those with TS or by parents whose children have been diagnosed with TS. Then there are novels that feature characters living with TS. We all know how important it is to see yourself represented on the page or on the screen.

Video blogger and TS advocate Britney Wolf is working on her own memoir that is scheduled to be released next year. We are very excited to get our hands on it! Until then, here are just a few books that we have seen over the last few years that we would suggest. Do you have a good read you would like to share? Please let us know in the comments!

Children

Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You

by Sonia Sotomayor

In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges, including TS–and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same: When we come across someone who is different from us but we’re not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.

Young Adult

Kiss and Repeat

by Heather Truett

Stephen Luckie isn’t so lucky in love. He’s completely inexperienced when it comes to girls, and wonders if his tics – caused by Tourette’s Syndrome – are the reason. He uses the scientific method drilled into him by his scientist father to begin a kissing experiment. Only the experiment gets messy, and Stephen will have to come clean if he wants to win one girl’s heart

Contemporary Romance

Yes & I Love You

by Roni Loren

Everyone knows Miz Poppy, the vibrant reviewer whose commentary brightens the New Orleans nightlife. But no one knows Hollyn Tate, the real face behind the media star…or the anxiety that keeps her isolated. All her life, Hollyn’s tried to hide her true self behind an online façade, but when her boss tells her she needs to reveal the truth to the world or lose her job, she’s forced to rely on an unexpected source to help face her fears.

Memoir

He’s Not Broken: A Mother’s Journey to Acceptance

by Ginger McGee

He’s Not Broken: A Mother’s Journey to Acceptance provides parents of children with special needs validation for the emotions that come flooding in when they realize their child is “different”. It offers encouragement and proves that one can rise above challenging diagnoses, and use the full force of emotions to make a difference. “He’s Not Broken is a book about a remarkable child who believed in himself and who taught me to believe so much more than I ever thought possible.” – Ginger McGee

The Keeper: The Unguarded Story of Tim Howard Young Readers’ Edition 

by Tim Howard

In this heartwarming and candid account, Tim Howard opens up about how a hyperactive kid from New Jersey with Tourette Syndrome defied the odds to become one of the world’s premier goalkeepers.

Tim shares his remarkable journey in an accessible way that will speak to soccer fans, kids struggling with issues that make them feel “different,” and any young person looking for a compelling autobiography to read for a report or just for fun.

Original version for the adult reader – The Keeper: A Life of Saving Goals and Achieving Them 

Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had

by Brad Cohen

Brad Cohen’s story is not one of self-pity. His unwavering determination and fiercely positive attitude conquered the difficulties he faced in school, in college, and while job hunting. Brad never stopped striving, and after twenty-four interviews, he landed his dream job: teaching grade school and nurturing all of his students as a positive, encouraging role model.

Graphic Novel

Twitcha and Twitcha 2

by Sarah Baldwin, et al

Of course we would be remiss not to include our very own Twitcha! A character conceived by participants of the NJCTS Tim Howard Leadership Academy. The three high school students dreamed up a superhero that would be living with the same disorder they faced every day, Tourette Syndrome. During late night brainstorming sessions about their final Academy project, Twitcha became a story about struggle, overcoming stigma and, finally, acceptance. (Hard copies of Twitcha and Twitcha 2 are available via our website.)

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