The Gold of the Sunbeams: And Other Stories

—Dr. Oliver Sacks, New York Times Bestselling Author

Diagnosed as severely autistic at the age of three, Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, nearly nonverbal, was brought up by his loving mother Soma, who taught him to read English and challenged him to write his own stories.

The initial result was The Mind Tree, published in 2003, which Tito wrote between the ages of eight and eleven. The Gold of the Sunbeams is an equally impressive, beautiful collection of stories, each prefaced by a charming note from Tito explaining how the story came into being. Above all, this is the work of a true poet.

Tito gives voice to the life experiences he has had with autism and provides readers with explanations for his responses to the world at large. He writes in word murals; his use of language is vividly colorful and warm, like “sunbeams.”

Tito and Soma are Ambassadors on a Goodwill mission of hope and education for people with autism and their families. Here, instead of books by “experts” who speculate about a condition they don’t have, you can read the words and thoughts of someone who has autism.