Summer Books Review

This summer I ordered three autism related books. Although they were very different, I enjoyed reading all three of them very much. The books are:

• The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas,
• Odd Girl Out by Laura James, and
• Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Adults by Luke Beardon.

The list above is in no way a ranking but contains the books in the order I read them. I will be reviewing them in the same order for consistency. In fact, I am glad that the three books belong three totally different genres (young adults, memoir, and non-fiction guidebook), so I don’t have to say which one is better. Because honestly, I couldn’t. All three of them are most certainly amongst the best you can get in their respective categories. But let me get to the details of to why they are so superb.

The State of Grace (Rachael Lucas)

This book has all the ingredients you expect in a young adult novel. Teenagers, a love story, and even horses. Wow… I can’t even remember how long ago it was that I last read a book involving horses. Nevertheless, this is exactly the kind of book that I would have loved reading 15 or so years ago. There is one big difference between this book and the ones that I actually read at that time though. This time, the main character, Grace, is someone that could be me, rather than someone I might be able to be like when trying harder.

And although I am an adult now, and I wouldn’t normally be bothered reading young adult novels anymore (except for language learning, that is), I don’t regret reading this book for one minute. I was actually short from jumping up and down when reading through the meltdown scene, smiling and thinking: “This is historical.” After all, how often does one encounter a convincing description of an autistic meltdown in a fiction book? It was a first for me, of that I am sure.

I can imagine that meltdowns are hard to write about even as an autistic writer (because, at least for me, the pain, thoughts and feelings during a meltdown are not readily accessible afterwards). But I am glad Rachael Lucas took up the challenge of including a meltdown, and describing it from an inner autistic perspective. And I think she did a great job.

The accuracy and detail of the autistic representation also shows in other scenes. Throughout the book we get to see so many different facets of Graces emotions and struggles, going way beyond the stereotypical image we would get elsewhere. She is a real autistic character, the kind we don’t get to see that often. I quickly grew quite fond of her, as she triggered a nostalgic smile and teenage memories.

The one thing I was a bit disappointed about in this book is the editing. I got confused a couple of times: by people with very similar names, by the only two cars described in more detail than just car being both red, by a strain of thought at the end of one chapter being repeated at the beginning of the next one. This kind of details tend to interrupt the flow of reading I enjoy so much. But maybe that’s just me being a picky adult now.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, even as an adult. And I am sure, if it would have been around when I was younger, Grace, and with her Rachael Lucas, would certainly have been my Heroes.

Odd Girl Out (Laura James)

Odd girl out being the memoir of an autistic woman, this is the kind of book I read because of all those little stories that are so recognizable. The parts where you think: “Yes, that’s me!”, or “So true”. Word after word telling you you’re not alone, making you feel like you belong. And Odd girl out certainly didn’t disappoint on this front. Let me give you some examples:

Did you know Sunday evening stress is a thing? Do you recognize:The change that comes with the end of a weekend makes me feel wobbly and unsure. (p23) ? I certainly do, and somehow, until I read this, I still thought I was the only one!

And there is the very accurate description of a feeling (is it a feeling?) that I know is very common among autistics: humanity depression. Creeping up on you when you see the evil (big and small) humans are capable of, and that is so overwhelming it barely lets you breathe sometimes.

These are just two of many small bits and pieces that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling while reading this book. But as much as I am addicted to recognizable anecdotes in autistic memoirs, what makes this book extraordinary is that it goes beyond that.

It is more than just a book about an autistic woman because Laura James doesn’t only talk about herself. She also reflects quite a bit on her relationships. And while most books talking about mixed (autistic-neurotypical) relationships are about autistic men and neurotypical women, odd girl out offers a new (and much-needed) perspective on the topic.

It is more than just a chronological story of my life because she masters the play with time with the competence of an experienced writer. Each piece of information seemed to come at the right time, I never lost track and never got bored. She filled the book with changing time perspectives and rich flashbacks to tell about her childhood and offering us views into her pre diagnosis life, as well as describing the evolution towards accepting and settling into a new routine afterward.

Last but not least this book is also more than just a memoir because of the answers and opinions of well-known autism experts she weaved into the story. She took the time to interview them and ask them her questions. And when writing the book she doesn’t claim the gained knowledge to be her own, but rather casually attributes them to the persons she asked. It makes the book feel like you are talking to a friend who just came back from a very interesting conference, reading you into the result of her successful networking experience.

Long story short: I loved reading Odd Girl Out, and I am going to read it again for sure.

Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Adults (Luke Beardon)

If you search for “Asperger book” online, or inquire about it in your local book store, it won’t be long before Tony Attwoods Ultimate Guide is mentioned. But let’s say you are interested in autistic adults (or you are an interested autistic adult). Then I’d rather recommend you this wonder of conciseness by Luke Beardon.

120 pages is all this true expert needs for his wonderful introduction to autism. That is twelve chapters covering a broad range of topics with just the right amount of detail. As I was working on a post about accommodations at university (in German) at the time I was reading this, the Academic study chapter gave me lots of inspiration. But there is also a chapter about Anxiety, sensory issues, masking, identity…

Yes, I do acknowledge, the chapter on close relationships and parenthood is rather superficial, but this is the only chapter where you could say this. So for a book called an up-to-date overview, this is only a small flaw in an otherwise amazing achievement. If you do want to know more on those topics, you might want to have a look at the Adults Speak Out on Asperger Syndrome (AS) series, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, and co-edited by Luke Beardon together with Dean Worton and Kleio Cossburn. As part of this series, a book about relationships has already been published: Love, Partnership, or Singleton on the Autism Spectrum, while one on parenthood is still in the making.

If you want to read just one book about autism, make it this one. And as it is only 120 pages long, you might even have time to read another one after you finish. But I am sure that no other 120 pages will give you this amount of useful and insightful information, while still being such a joy to read.