[2] In her memoir Songs of the Gorilla Nation, Prince-Hughes describes her childhood experience with symptoms of undiagnosed autism, dropping out of high school, and then becoming "technically homeless.
[9] According to a review by Nancy McCray in Booklist, "Sharing their trials and tribulations, these adults offer their communities a certain expertise, especially in libraries and universities, where people with such conditions are often successful.
"[3] In a review for Booklist, Nancy Bent writes, "The author's accounts of her early childhood are intensely moving as she describes how she viewed her world and how she tried to deal with it.
What makes this book unique is the author's discovery of the gorillas at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, and how she learned about personal relationships, the need for companionship, and the need for a group to belong to by watching them.
"[11] A review for Publishers Weekly states, "By quietly, calmly watching the gorillas interact, Prince-Hughes learns about emotions like love, anger, concern and humor—feelings she could never understand in the purely human world.
"[12] Kirkus Reviews writes, "She developed deep empathy with these primates, referred to here as "gorilla people" because in her view they fulfill all the criteria for personhood, serving as models of gentle care, protectiveness, acceptance, and love.