Amy Wilensky
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Amy Wilensky (born 1969) is an American writer who has published two memoirs. Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion (2000) is about her experience of Tourette syndrome and obsessive–compulsive disorder. The Weight of It: A Story of Two Sisters (2004) is about her sister's obesity.
Wilensky grew up in the Boston suburb of Sudbury, Massachusetts.[2][3] She was bullied as a child because of her Tourette syndrome.[2] She attended Vassar College, and studied writing at Columbia University School of the Arts.[2][3]
Writing
Wilensky's Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion (Broadway Books, 2000) describes feeling shame and sadness as a child with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome.[4] She had uncontrollable tics.[5] The book has been described as demonstrating "the extreme lengths to which individuals with Tourette's may go to manage their symptoms in social settings".[6] The journal Metapsychology said that the book was "frank and competently written" and would provide hope for "people who are odd in some way".[1]
Her second book, The Weight of It: A Story of Two Sisters, was published in 2004 by Henry Holt and Company, and is about her sister's obesity.[7] Publishers Weekly said that "Wilensky masterfully tells a story that she recognizes is not truly hers to tell".[7] Kirkus Reviews said "Funny and affecting in parts, but on the whole disappointing".[8]