Jeanie Loiacono's Photo Prodigious Savant by JJ White - According to Dr. Darold A. Treffert of the University of Wisconsin, there are fewer than one hundred reported cases of prodigious savants in the world. Those few who possess the savant syndrome all have an island of brilliance that allows them to excel in some remarkable talent. Unfortunately, they all share various developmental disabilities. Imagine going to sleep one night as a normal person of average intelligence and waking the next day in possession of several genius level abilities. In 1962 Vermont, seventeen-year-old Gavin survives a horrendous explosion, six hours of brain surgery, and thirty days in a coma, to awake possessing not just one savant talent, but several, including art, music, mathematics, and memory, and all without suffering any of the usual mental disabilities associated with head trauma. His newly acquired abilities thrust him into the public eye as the amazing ‘Whiz Kid’ from Burlington; a moniker he detests. At first excited by his new celebrity, he eventually drifts into deep depression, burdened by a domineering father, his paranoia that someone’s trying to kill him, and his increasing tendency for violence. His genius, paranoia, and increased hallucinations result in some strange and extraordinary encounters with the icons of the 60s, including Bobby Fischer, Nikita Khrushchev, Edward R. Murrow, John Chancellor and even a tragic meeting with John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Gavin’s odds look slim that he will survive not only his external trials, but also his inner conflict keeping him from the one thing he desires most, the girl he’s loved since childhood. #1037571666034565268
Prodigious Savant by JJ White - According to Dr. Darold A. Treffert of the University of Wisconsin, there are fewer than one hundred reported cases of prodigious savants in the world. Those few who possess the savant syndrome all have an island of brilliance that allows them to excel in some remarkable talent. Unfortunately, they all share various developmental disabilities. Imagine going to sleep one night as a normal person of average intelligence and waking the next day in possession of several genius level abilities. In 1962 Vermont, seventeen-year-old Gavin survives a horrendous explosion, six hours of brain surgery, and thirty days in a coma, to awake possessing not just one savant talent, but several, including art, music, mathematics, and memory, and all without suffering any of the usual mental disabilities associated with head trauma. His newly acquired abilities thrust him into the public eye as the amazing ‘Whiz Kid’ from Burlington; a moniker he detests. At first excited by his new celebrity, he eventually drifts into deep depression, burdened by a domineering father, his paranoia that someone’s trying to kill him, and his increasing tendency for violence. His genius, paranoia, and increased hallucinations result in some strange and extraordinary encounters with the icons of the 60s, including Bobby Fischer, Nikita Khrushchev, Edward R. Murrow, John Chancellor and even a tragic meeting with John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Gavin’s odds look slim that he will survive not only his external trials, but also his inner conflict keeping him from the one thing he desires most, the girl he’s loved since childhood.
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