James Cook 
In Her Room 
How Music Helped Me Connect With My Autistic Daughter

When James Cook’s daughter was nearly one, he began to suspect that she wasn’t simply a ‘late bloomer’, as he and his wife were telling friends and family. Emily was strongly taken by images and patterns around the house, had a marked response to music, but never pointed at anything, and hadn’t crawled yet.



At the age of two-and-a-half, after months of invasive tests, Emily was finally diagnosed with severe autism, and everything changed.



Forced to embark on a fraught journey from denial to acceptance, James discovered the multi-faceted link between music and autism, and how singing and playing guitar for Emily could provide a unique form of communication.




In Her Room is an extraordinary and heartbreaking story of a father’s attempts to connect with his daughter, and how music can help bridge the divide.

About the author

Originally a musician and songwriter, James Cook released two critically acclaimed albums with his band Flamingoes, toured the UK and Europe and sold 20, 000 records worldwide. In 2009, one of James’s short stories was featured in a collection alongside pieces by Nick Cave and Man Booker Prize-winner D. B. C. Pierre. In 2018, his first book, Memory Songs, was published with Unbound. James has written about music for the Guardian, Boundless and Review 31. He lives in London.