*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author, Octopus Books and Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.* Blurb: To the outside world, Emily looks like a typical g…
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author, Octopus Books and Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: To the outside world, Emily looks like a typical girl, with a normal family, living an ordinary life. But inside, Emily does not feel typical, and the older she gets, the more she realises that she is different. As she finally discovers when she is 16, Emily is autistic. Girl Unmasked is the extraordinary story of how she got there - and how she very nearly didn't.
Still only 21, Emily writes with startling candour about the years leading up to her diagnosis. How books and imagination became her refuge as she sought to escape the increasing anxiety and unbearable stresses of school life; how her OCD almost destroyed her; how a system which did not understand autism let her down; and how she came so close to the edge that she and her family thought she would never survive.
In this simple but powerful memoir, we see how family and friends became her lifeline and how, post-diagnosis, Emily came to understand her authentic self and begin to turn her life around, eventually becoming a mental health nurse with a desire to help others where she herself had once been failed.
Ultimately uplifting, Girl Unmasked is a remarkable insight into what it can be like to be autistic - and shows us that through understanding and embracing difference we can all find ways to thrive.
I am in the process of doing what many autistic people do during the journey of realisation, including the author, which is seeking out autistic voices, experiences, people that I can relate to, to help me better understand myself and how I fit in to the world. The author hopes that this book helps add to that sense of understanding and community and I can confirm that, in my experience, it does.
This book had me nodding emphatically throughout, reading bits aloud to my family and bookmarking it to buy for friends or family members who are autistic or love someone who is. The author's experiences really resonated with me, down to many of the stories of her childhood, incorrect diagnoses and we even share the same special interests... I can't remember ever feeling so seen and heard by a book, or feeling part of something positive and valuable instead of just weird and alone.
Emily Katy's writing voice is clear, direct and powerful: resonant with both strength and vulnerability; with humour, sadness and anger. I was moved to tears more than once while reading, especially as the book doesn't shy away from exploring some of the catastrophic consequences to late/incorrect diagnosis, including self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Mental health is so closely linked to our understanding of ourself and our identities in multiple ways and yet that same co-morbidity and overlap between mental illness, physical ill health and neurodivergence can have devastating effects on an individual struggling to thrive in a world not designed to accommodate them.
Between the raw personal anecdotes and the history leading to the author's autism diagnosis are plenty of facts, all backed with explanations and references. And I particularly vibed with the intermittent lists that summarised important and useful information. Who doesn't love a good list?!
I believe that this book is a must-read for autistic individuals, parents, teachers, health professionals... everyone, really. I put it down with a better understanding of myself and how to support other autistic people in my life, but also - and more importantly - a glow of pleasure to be identified with such an amazing community and a hope that the more autistic voices we hear (in both fiction and non-fiction, on page, screen and airwaves), the fewer individuals will have to struggle with feeling 'weird and alone'.
This isn't the first autism-themed book on my special interest shelf on the subject, but it will definitely take pride of place there and I will be following* the author with interest too.
*not literally, as that would be creepy. Just on social media and looking out for future books!
All autistic people are different. We all have different needs, different challenges and different strengths. Where I talk about autism, I do so based on my own experiences, the experiences I have heard from others, the generally accepted views among the autistic community and evidence from research studies. But my aim is never to speak for all autistic people. What I do know, though, is that when I left my assessment armed with the new knowledge I had, I sought out autistic voices, desperate for some connection, some mutual understanding and some community. I found many wonderful autistic people on social media, in books and even some in real life. Discovering these autistic voices gave me comfort and the space to learn about myself in a way that advice from professionals could never provide. I hope that this book adds to them.
EMILY KATY, 21, lived as an undiagnosed autistic girl for nearly seventeen years. After completing her degree in 2022, she qualified as a mental health nurse. She has a large, highly engaged following on Twitter and Instagram (@ItsEmilyKaty) and a blog http://www.authenticallyemily.uk, where she talks about autism and mental health.
Emily is a Trustee of the charity 'The Autistic Girls Network', a former Governor and member of the CAMHS young people's council for her local NHS trust, and in 2021 to celebrate the International Day of the Girl, she was selected by the Women of the World Foundation as one of their 2021 40 Young Leaders.
She lives in Hertfordshire with her family and two dogs, and loves books, writing, scrapbooking and Greys Anatomy.
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