Status
Genres
Publication
Description
Biography & Autobiography. Psychology. Nonfiction. Humor (Nonfiction.) HTML:INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER �?� �??Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, this is a necessary corrective in a world where Autistic women are all either written off as quiet and docile, or erased entirely.�?� �??Devon Price, Ph.D., author of Unmasking Autism Scottish comedian Fern Brady was told she couldn't be autistic because she'd had loads of boyfriends and is good at eye contact. In this frank and surreal memoir, she delivers a sharp and often hilarious portrait of neurodivergence and living unmasked. After reading about autism in her teens, Fern Brady knew instinctively that she had it�??autism explained her sensory issues, her meltdowns, her inability to pick up on social cues�??and she told her doctor as much. But it took until she was thirty-four for her to get diagnosed. Strong Female Character is about the years in between, and the unique combination of sexism and ableism that so often prevents autistic women from getting diagnosed until adulthood. Coming from a working-class Scottish Catholic family, Fern wasn�??t exactly poised to receive an open-minded acceptance of her neurodivergence. With the piercing clarity and wit that has put her at the top of the British comedy scene, she now reflects on the ways her undiagnosed autism influenced her youth, from the tree that functioned as her childhood best friend to the psychiatric facility where she ended up when neither her parents nor school knew what to do with her. In a memoir as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, Fern leaves no stone unturned while detailing her futile attempts at employment, her increasingly destructive coping mechanisms, and the meltdowns that left her mind (and apartment) in ruins. Her chaotic, nonlinear journey�??from stripping to getting arrested to finding a lifeline in comedy to her breakout appearance on the Taskmaster TV show as her full, unmasked self�??is both a remarkable coming-of-age tale and a dark but poignant tribute to life at the intersection of womanhood and neurodiversity. Strong Female Character is a story of how being female can get in the way of being autistic and how being autistic gets in the way of being… (more)
Similar in this library
User reviews
“I’m aware that this process was called the Liverpool Care Pathway by the NHS but for reasons outlined elsewhere in the book, I don’t do well with obfuscating language. I think if we called it ‘starving and dehydrating someone to death’ a lot more of us would become pro-euthanasia overnight.”
“I realized that those people who say money isn’t everything are liars.”
I figured that she would be a great stand-up comic. I looked online and watched part of a few videos of her routines and I do think she is funny. Great writing and delivery & timing.
This memoir? I loved it. I found it hilarious. I found her perspicacious honesty funny and touching too. I greatly appreciate how the author explains (at least her) autism incredibly well and that I think readers will come away with an understanding of people with autism and the behaviors they might have. I’d like to put this book into the hands of most readers, particularly doctors, therapists, teachers and others It’s a must read for parents of people diagnosed with autism and I think it will help people with autism, those diagnosed with the condition and those not yet diagnosed. I also love how she takes a good hard look at society and is a feminist.
I simultaneously read the Kindle e-book edition and the Libby audiobook edition. I love her Scottish accent. With a memoir I’ll listen (in addition to reading the words on the page or screen) only if the author is the narrator and she is for this book.
This exceptional woman has made her own way while overcoming much more than the usual misogynistic hurdles to become an outstanding comedian and voice of activism. Hear her struggles in this memoir and laugh/cry with her as she
I requested and received an EARC from Rodale Inc/Harmony via NetGalley. Thank you!
Not particularly funny, unless you find someone's life descending into a shit maelstrom hilarious. And I cried at the end. A bit. I enjoy Fern's comedy and I recall her outing her autistic self on Twitter. Very brave. I mean, it is Musk Twitter now and even before then it
I only missed one or two words due to her accent.