Welcome to Litsy!

- Weekend away in London was awesome! Absolutely knackered now though - I think it will take me several more days to recover.

-Tagged book: I appreciate the term “lezzing off” so much 😂

- Bath bomb was another LushxMinecraft collab: Diamond Ore. These are so well done…I love how they look, smell and feel. #bathbomb #minecraft #london #lush

I‘ve been away from Litsy for two years and could not believe it had been so long when I just logged in and checked my last post. Reading fell by the wayside as I went through what I suppose is semi-retirement due to health stuff. I have no idea what I‘ve filled my time with, but it hasn‘t been productive in any meaningful way. I‘m okay though. I think.

Bath bomb is from the MinecraftxLush collab. #minecraft #bathbomb #bathing #relaxation

After a truly challenging childhood and adolescence, plagued with symptoms and struggles that go undiagnosed and misdiagnosed, Brady is finally diagnosed with autism as an adult. She endured years of frustrating and painful experiences for lack of appropriate care. Autism can present differently in women; help is hard to find and often delayed. Brady shares her own journey so candidly. It‘s hard, intense, but good.

It‘s always difficult to review memoirs. This one falls into the category intense revolutionary openness. I love Fern Brady‘s comedy, and I‘m grateful to the show Taskmaster for introducing me to her. This book, sprinkled with humor, shines most brightly for me in the passages about the hypocrisies of social constructs. ⬇️

Told with brutal honesty + dark humour, comedian Fern Brady considers her troubled life so far, having received as an adult diagnosis of autism. For many adolescent girls with autism they are often labelled difficult, angry, or promiscuous when their diagnosis would have helped both the individual + their families and teachers. I found this book both funny and sad, the comedy masks experiences which must have been very painful. A brilliant memoir.

This is a brilliant memoir and a brutally honest insight into Fern Brady's experience as an autistic woman. I hope the snobby posh bastards who she went to uni with read this and feel inferior and shit. Definitely recommend listening to it on audiobook.

I had never heard of Fern Brady before but was intrigued to read this memoir about her life with autism and not getting a diagnosis until she was in her thirties.

Her story is eye-opening, brutally honest, and helpful in explaining autism to people (like me) who don't know much about it.

Her Scottish accent took me a minute to get used to, but the audiobook was great. I always like when people narrate their own stories.

Next up

This was an incredible book. Fern details at length her personal experience with late diagnosed autism and her narration is incredible. I barely put it down.

I'm not familiar with FB's stand-up (and haven't a clue what Taskmaster is). This was yet another of my autism memoirs. Maybe I didn't get the joke but this struck me as unrelentingly bleak, and frequently alarming. It is important to share the experience of non-posh ND women, and kudos to her for being so open on the subject of meltdowns. Wish I could say I loved it but, ironically, it left me feeling overwhelmed (and not in a good way). 😩

In one workplace, the boss walked around at 5pm every day smiling and telling everyone, ‘Please, go home! Get your dinner! Relax!‘ Obediently, I‘d get up and leave, wondering why no one was listening to him and had their heads in their hands as they continued to look at emails.

‘You‘re not supposed to actually get up and go home,‘ my colleague whispered to me one evening after he‘d left. ‘He just likes saying that ‘cause it makes him look good.‘

Fern Brady is diagnosed with autism as an adult & this memoir details her childhood & young adult years as someone with autism but undiagnosed - she was treated by her parents, school & people in authority as someone who was just badly behaved. Although she related to a lot of the characteristics & said to health professionals she thought she was autistic it was ignored. I loved the insight, the humour & the little bits of research & statistics.

Memoir of the year. Hands down.

I had no idea who Fern Brady was, but I fell in love with her honesty & bravery during this. I've never read a book where I laughed, cringed, & teared up in equal measures. It was devastating to see the treatment she received as a child & young adult without her autism diagnosis. I'm so pleased she fought for her diagnosis & has become a badass role model for those on the spectrum. 11/10 ⭐️

In my top 3 of 2023. 👏

Superb. I can't recommend this enough. I learned so much from it.

My book haul today (plus Julia and the Shark and a picture book for my nieces). @trishb @squirrelbrain

Book 140📚 3.7⭐️

A completely raw look at what is like to be an autistic woman growing up undiagnosed.

Fern has been through a lot over the years and has channeled that into her flourishing comedy career.

While I couldn‘t relate to some of her stories, it showed just how different individuals on the spectrum can be.

Very powerful🖤

Yes, Fern… YES.

I felt this so much.

Last month I was diagnosed with Autism, and a few other Neurospicy labels… It‘s been a ride learning about myself again and reading others journey through their diagnosis has been a revelation.

Time to not feel so “alone”❤️‍🔥

Fern Brady is Scottish comedian and her humour really comes across in this memoir. As a woman with autism she gives us all the awful, sad and truly maddening ways she was treated while growing up, all with a very witty and dry sense of humour. She doesn‘t hold anything back and really makes us feel for her while at the same time wanting to hang out with her. I loved this memoir and I learned a lot from it
4 ⭐️