A dear friend gave me my copy of Strong Female Character for Christmas (<3), but in true procrastination-prone me fashion, it took me until April to read it. But hey, just in time for Autism Acceptance Month!

It was only after having this on my TBR for awhile that I realized that this Fern Brady was the same Fern Brady who does the standup that my roommate sends me videos of every now and then. Her book has a similar voice--and even the same bit about the badger puppet--as her comedy, but anyone expecting a light, funny read might be disappointed. Life pre-autism diagnosis is deeply confusing and messy, and Fern doesn't shy away from showing the unpleasant (and absurd) situations that autistic people can find ourselves in when we don't fully understand how our brains work or how to interact with people or why sometimes our entire nervous systems go haywire. I really appreciate this candor, and the honesty with which she admits that there isn't really a neat, happy ending that she can share.

I also appreciate how much information about autism she shares in her footnotes. A lot of us end up with autism as a special interest for awhile after being diagnosed--I can't even tell you how many YouTube videos I watched, in addition to reading the huge tome Neurotribes--so her research is relatable and I'm glad she got to put it to good use.