The story of a boy with special educational needs, at a time when there was nothing special about education!
Gerry Hood, born into a time of profound ignorance about the recognised phenomenon of Asperger's syndrome, seeks understanding and solace in the sanctuary of music and writing. Aided and abetted by his heroic older brother and a cast of dubious friends, he pilots his way through the stark realities of education, corporal punishment and tyrannical teachers finding his escape through the prodigious musical and writing talents he develops in spite of the institution's attempt to crush his spirit, creativity and unique individual struggle for acceptance.
A tale of life, love and disputes with authority, this first of a trilogy of tales will leave the reader laughing and crying in dismay as the unstoppable 'Juggernaut' of British education in the sixties and seventies trundles over the needs of an individual for the greater good. But is it a greater good?
Each chapter brings a new adventure in resistance and cunning escape from the crushing wheels of convention and tradition as one small boy confronts the might of despotic head masters - with a licence to beat small children with sticks - and the many prejudices and bigotries of a time and culture that belied profound cruelty and child-abuse.