A love story like no other, 'Mozart and the Whale' is the story of two extraordinary individuals - both savants with Asperger's Syndrome - and their moving and hugely inspiring struggle, heartbreak and eventual triumph.
What are the odds of two people meeting, falling in love, marrying, divorcing, after which both fall into depression and attempt suicide, then reuniting, remarrying and building a happy life together? What are the odds that this same couple would appear on 60 Minutes and have their story optioned for millions of dollars by Stephen Spielberg?
But this is no ordinary love story and these are not ordinary people. The memoir of two "hopeless misfits", 'Mozart and the Whale' tells the riveting, sad, funny and ultimately joyous story of Jerry and Mary Newport. Both were born with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism familiar to anyone who's seen the movie Rainman, where sufferers are unable to process the sort of social cues and information necessary to form relationships and function normally in society. Both Jerry and Mary however are highly intelligent, possessing astronomically high IQs, and both are savants with remarkable powers: Jerry is a mathematical genius and Mary is a gifted composer and artist.
Coming together transformed them both. Once they accepted they could never be 'normal', they learned they could instead be wonderfully different. But just when it appeared Jerry and Mary would enjoy a fairytale ending, their marriage blew apart under the strain of coping with the media, and Hollywood's, expectations. They divorced, drifted apart, and both attempted suicide, although neither knew this about the other until years later. Eventually, after years of heartache and soul searching Jerry and Mary reunited and remarried. Today, having weathered more storms than most people do in ten lifetimes, their union is stronger than ever. This is their remarkable story of love and survival.
