Should I write a book about my life so far?

[Mr Allen]

It would be kind of an autobiography, in some ways a comedy, others rather tragic.

And if I wrote and got the book published, who would play me in the movie of it?

 

[toothless]

hi rich,i think you should write a book about your life.
even if you do not get it published-it will give you something to do and perhaps help you process things that have happened in your life that you have not yet processed very well.

one of my support staff was a heroin/speed/alcohol addict in her younger years and her terrible upbringing from a dysfunctional and alcoholic family,shes wrote a book all about her life and the people she has met [many of whom are dead now] and i think its an amazing thing to do,as it helps you deal with it,shes serious about getting it publsihed and i think she will id certainly buy her book.

i started writing a book some years ago,but i waffled so much in it i abandoned it.
i think you should go for it,what reasons have you got to not write a book?

 

[Mr Allen]

The book of me – a life of Asperger's and other disability issues.



My lfe started on a warm Tuesday afternoon, during the hot early Summer of April 1976, born to Diane and Bob Allen and older Brother Dave at Nether Edge Hospital in Sheffield, England.

Back then, we lived in a big House in Chapeltown, Sheffield, we lived there till I was about 2 then we moved in 1978 to a 3 Bedroom House in Walkley, Sheffield. I don't really remember much about my early life in the late '70s, apart from driving little red toy car around when I was about 2.

When I was born, the Doctors all said I was a "floppy" baby, and they said I'd never be able to write, I've since proved that theory well wrong, my writing might not be the nearest but it's still perfectly legible by most psople.

Anyway fast forward to September 1980, when I was nearly 4 and half, and I started first school at Rivelin Nursery on Morley St, had a great couple of years playing with Lego all the time and other stuff until I went to the first school next door for the next 3 years, then the Junior school from '84 to 87 until I was 11 then I was forced to go to a "special" school in Norton, Sheffield, I hated the whole 5 years of the place for various reasons but we'll come to that in the next section.

5 years of hell at Gleadless Valley Secondary school in Norton under the "Unit", headed by Sandra Freeman, one of the most evil people I ever met and that's being kind! If I hadn't made a best friend in my ex I would've walked out after the first day and never gone back.

5 years later, after failing all my exams except typing as I recall, I wasn't doing much of anything, having just turned 16 with no qualifcations from school and no job prospects, then the following April 1993, I attended Weelsby Hall FE College in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire (Well it was called South Humberside back then but the name of the County changed years ago), did some great courses there including Building Maintenance, and Hotel work (which included a OT of Pot washing), and made some cool friends, some of which I'm still in touch with via social media.

2 years later I came Home at the end of March 1995, and went on a Youth Training Scheme just after my 19th Birthday (Youth Training? I was 19 for God sake! Hardly a Youth!), and my reservations were proved right because I was indeed the eldest on the course, the others were 17 at the most, school leavers! Anyway I got a placement from it, 4 months in an Oxfam shop in Town, serving customers before I eventually got bored and decided to go back to Sheffield College to try and do an IT course, but I ended up being shoved into an NVQ Retail course because there wasn't an IT course available (well to be fair it was the mid 90's, the Internet kind of hadn't been invented yet) but I still enjoyed it and got level 1 and 2 NVQ certificates in Retail from it and 2 placements, 1 in the Toy Department at Debenham's in Town and then a local Supermarket doing shelf stacking, left in July 1997.

A month or so later, tragedy hit the Family as we lost my late Granddad, Mum's Dad to Cancer, but the poor old lad did smoke a Pipe most of his adult life, hence I'm totally against smoking in all its forms now, the funeral was in early 1998 as I recall, very sad time, I cried when the brought the Coffin out and when Mum cried because she'd lost her Dad, it broke my poor little heart!

In November 1997 though, we eventually moved from the House in Walkley to a bigger House in Stannington, where Mum and Dad still live to this day, and for Christmas that year I got my first Internet enabled PC with a 56k dial up connection to a Firm called Clara NET, not sure if they're still around nearly 20 years later, then after a while I changed providers and went on AOL (worst ever, bad connections, annoying "service" staff), I remained on dial up for nearly another 5 years till we finally got Broadband in the area sometime in 2002.

A few years later in 2006, I started a computer course at The Source, near Meadowhall, and for a BTEC certificate in "using IT", having learned the full MS Office suit including Word, Access, Excel and Power point., and then in August 2006 I finally moved out out of the Parents' House into a "supported living" Flat in Central Sheffield's quiet Netherthorpe area, where I'm still living to date.

In June 2014, I started a position at a branch of PDSA Charity shop in Sheffield's busy Broomhill area, I really enjoyed this until April 2017 when I was forced to leave after a dispute with an older guy who's worked there a lot longer than me, the guy called me a "Deaf C U Next Tuesday" if you get my meaning, I took the nark and refused to work with him any more.

In November 2015 I took on a second voluntary position at Oxfam on Glossop Road, which is their local Bookshop, really enjoyed it there as well, only reason I left after 6 months to the day, was because I got mugged outside the shop one day, and then the shop got burgled, so I was forced to resign on safety grounds, both my own safety and that of my care people.

As mentioned I carried on working at the PDSA till recently.

And the rest of this tale is History.

Roll on the future.

This is a work in progress of my book so far.