CORNWALL, Ontario - s4story -- Cornwall artist and Autism advocate, Carl Parker has taken a unique approach to his upcoming 50th birthday.  Rather than cake and ice cream, he decided to write and publish his memoirs.

"it's something I've wanted to do for a while," Parker explained, "I've lived quite a life, and the recent pandemic and attendant self-isolation gave me the perfect opportunity to be able to sit down and put it all together."

The memoir, titled, "Buy This Damn Book!:  Memoir of an Aspie Artist." chronicles the artist's first fifty years, from his birth to an alcoholic mother in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to his tumultuous school days, instances of abuse, trauma, his diagnosis with High Functioning Autism, and the discovery of his unique painting talent with brutal honesty and surprising humour.

Over his 24 year career, Parker has become a household name in many art circles with his work hanging in homes and businesses all over the world and in particular, in the Ontario Provincial Legislature's In Camera Dining Room.   He elaborated on his desire to chronicle his life, "I've been through it all, I was a poor student, poor employee, I've been abused, robbed, you name it.  But, even though all that, I was able to find the one thing I was meant to do.  If someone like me can do that, there's hope for anyone out there.  I wanted to be honest, to give people out there a true picture of how things were.  I wanted them to know that there's always hope, even when things look their darkest, there's hope.

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Buy This Damn Book!:  Memoir of an Aspie Artist is available in both print and digital on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=buy+this+damn+book+carl+parker&crid=1TU8D34AAHYI5&sprefix=buy+this+damn+boo%2Caps%2C266&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_17