We are able to endure her struggles in math and grammar along side of her while seeing her excel in creative writing and history.Ībeel constantly intrigues and reels in the reader.

From there we see the struggles emerge as she begins elementary school and begins math. We see Abeel as a bright, intelligent kindergartner who is excelling academically. While reading My Thirteenth Winter we have the chance to ‘grow up’ with her. Abeel, making herself vulnerable by revealing all of her thoughts and feelings, invites all of the readers in to get a sense of the daily struggles and hardships that accompany a learning disability. This heart-wrenching yet light-hearted story at times is life-changing. (Nov.My Thirteenth Winter is a riveting memoir based on the challenges the author, Samantha Abeel, faces as she grows up with a learning disability. Her memoir, expressing both her talents and her intense frustration at not being able to perform everyday tasks like telling time and making change, conjures a haunting, intriguing portrait of a lonely outsider using creative outlets to earn acceptance from herself and others.

Despite her triumphs, however, Abeel frankly admits that some obstacles in her path will never go away. She recounts the encouragement she received to develop her talent as a writer, and traces her growing fame after her first book, Reach for the Moon The author evokes the rush of relief she felt when, at age 13, she was finally diagnosed with dyscalculia. I am terrified there is something really wrong with me,' Abeel writes of sitting through a fourth grade math class). Offering an intimate documentary, the author analyzes each stage of her life from an adult perspective, periodically recreating significant moments in her development-and using adult language to do so: 'There was no truer feeling of joy or of all-consuming passion than when I had an opportunity to use my imagination in creative play.' She examines her painful childhood, when she felt isolated from her peers and was fraught with anxieties about her inability to measure time and distance ('I feel so far away from everyone, removed, alone in my ignorance. Abeel's charged autobiography about growing up both learning-disabled and gifted may be better suited for parents and teachers than children.

My Thirteenth Winter by Samantha Abeel