Life Begins — Jack Gunthridge

In this semi-sequel and semi-revision of Life, Jack and Christine re-examine their high school days and the impact that Jack's undiagnosed autism had on their relationship and the issues they had with trying to grow up and understanding each other.

Since his diagnosis of having a high functioning form of autism, Jack Gunthridge recognized characteristics of himself in the Jack Gynapsy character. As he was working on the sequel to Life, he felt it was important enough to go back and add new sections to the original book. With Life having already gone through significant additions in the past, he is creating an entirely new title. It doesn't right from an historical standpoint to act like the original version of Life didn't exist, especially since it has been read by tens of thousands of people around the world.

This version is officially being labeled as the second book in the Life series. It is a bridge between Life and the upcoming sequel, Life Goes On. The stories of these were planned from the early days of Jack's writing. His autism just added a disability to the main character.

Life Begins explores what it is like to be in a relationship with an autistic man. It's not as bad as you think. Jane Austen is believed to have the same form of autism as Jack Gunthridge. It is also believed she endowed Mr. Darcy with autistic characteristics. This character went on to influence Edward Cullen and Christian Grey.