Pittsburgh native and Chatham University student Ashley Dunbar is a very busy young lady. She is currently studying Elementary Education and mourning her favorite sports team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. She’s also talking a lot about her new favorite book, Born on a Blue Day, a memoir of Daniel Tammet. Tammet was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at an early age, and is now considered an autistic savant. He has been described as a mathematics and linguistics genius. The book explains how he was bullied throughout his time in school and
struggled with the fact that he was gay as teenager. “A friend recommended this book, and I knew I had to read it,” Dunbar says. “I base what I read on emotional drive. I like to read about real people and real things, and I have read a lot of memoirs.”
Tammet wrote the book so that others with Asperger, or any overwhelming challenge, can still feel successful and have a place in this world. “He’s inspired me to share more,” Dunbar says. “If I can take my experiences and share that with people or students who have had similar struggles, why would I not take that opportunity to show how great life can be?”
