movie and book

I wrote a while back about the book Nanny Diaries, and now I've seen the movie. The movie has quite a few differences, but those differences make the story a little "easier." The book was so very disturbing because of the lack of parental time and affection that the children received. The movie has the same idea, but in a more abridged way since it had to fit into a two-hours-or-less time frame. Also, the movie has a happy ending while the book absolutely does not. I'm so glad I saw the movie!

Today I finished the book Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison, a memoir of his life. The author didn't know that he had Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism) until he was almost forty, I think. He lived at least half of his life thinking that he was just weird, rejected, unable to be "normal." He dropped out of high school because he was failing every class, not due to a lack of intelligence, though. He was brilliant and went on to be an electronic engineer, then a car mechanic who specialized in the super-expensive European cars that no one else could figure out how to fix, and now an author. Reading about this man's life has reminded me that every single person has his own story. We're each unique, we're each imperfect, and we're each important and special in our own ways. Most people don't think or reason or do things the way I do, but that doesn't make me weird and it doesn't make other people weird, either. It just means we're all different. When I look at someone who seems strange to me, I really must remember that I don't know that person's past or present situation, so I'm in no position to make any assumptions about him or her except that -- just like myself -- he or she could use a prayer for God's strength.