Rediscovered: A Compassionate and Courageous Guide For Late Discovered Autistic Women

by Catherine Asta

Misunderstood your whole life, ashamed, lost, lonely and struggling to cope? Exhausted from trying, but never quite managing, to fit in? Welcome to the Late Discovered Club, home to thousands of late discovered autistic women.

Late discovery can be life-changing - a lifetime of mysteries finally making sense. But there can also be a deep accompanying sense of grief. This is a book about coming home to yourself.

Part memoir, part guide, part narrative non-fiction - this book weaves Catherine Asta's deeply personal late discovery story with the lived experiences of over 100 autistic women spanning seven decades, while offering therapeutic insight, practical tools, and a powerful cultural critique of the systems that continue to overlook autistic women.

Catherine's empathetic guidance supports you advocate for yourself with a greater degree of self-awareness. With chapters on everything from masking, mental health, meltdowns, and menopause, to burnout, sensory processing, emotions, relationships, and work - it helps you to nurture your strengths as an autistic woman.

Most importantly, it shows you that you are not alone.

Catherine's next book, Still Living: Rewilding The Self After The Climb was published in April 2026.

Genres: Nonfiction, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Psychology, Adhd, Disability

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2025

About the author

Catherine is an ex-NHS strategist turned psychotherapist, writer, consultant, facilitator and artist. Her work brings together storytelling, systems thinking and trauma-informed practice to help create more compassionate, neuro-inclusive spaces for healing, connection and belonging.

She is the producer and host of ‘The Late Discovered Club’, the number one ranked podcast for late-identified autistic women, as well as the NHS-funded ‘Autism Central’ podcast.

Her bestselling book ‘Rediscovered’ is currently being translated internationally, with her memoir ‘Still Living’ published in April 2026.

A two-time breast cancer survivor she lives on the edge of the moors in Ilkley, Yorkshire in the UK where the landscape inspires and informs her creative work.

Instagram | @catherine.asta
Substack |'The Wild Returning'
Website | www.catherineasta.com

Reviews

[Emily Katy]

A compassionate, honest and brave guide for any late diagnosed autistic woman but which I’m sure holds wisdom and messages for anyone who picks it up. Catherine sharing her experience of being an autistic woman going through cancer treatment shed a light on autistic experience I haven’t seen covered before. Highly recommend.

[Sarah Boon]

Experiences of autistic people I know are talked about in this book that I haven’t seen written before (going through cancer when you’re autistic) I’d particularly recommend this book for women discovering their autistic in middle age. I’m still (just about) considered a young person, so it’s good to have a heads up of what it’s like being autistic in the years to come.

[Abigail]

Thought provoking and put words to feelings I've had as a late diagnosed autistic woman. Highly recommended read!

[Julianne Nanzer]

PHENOMENAL! Catherine please write more?! 🥰✨

[Michael Karasinski]

The depth at which Catherine shares her experiences in this book is incredibly brave. Her honesty and compassion will without doubt help not just late discovered autistic women, but anyone who reads it. It will help to spark important conversations within families and workplaces, helping to break down the stigma surrounding diagnosis (or self-diagnosis) and foster a sense of safety and understanding.

[Zoe]

great

[Frances Gaudiano]

Informative for adult women who feel they may have autism. It is upsetting in sections but tools are provided for readers who feel they want to go on the journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

[Amy]

3.75⭐️

[Beth Finn]

⋆⁺₊⋆ 4.75 Stars ⋆⁺₊⋆

[Lynn Finnerty]

Unsure how to review this book without outing myself. If you’ve spent your life masking. If youre sensitive touch, light, sound. If you want to be social but don’t really know how. If you were late to the “fill in the blank” in childhood and adulthood. If seemingly normal behaviors and exchnages feel awkward or uncomfortable for you. If you are obsessed with logic, structure, order, rules, and routines. If you’ve been described as odd or shy. And in particular if you are a woman and were born before the 1990s and any of these lines describe you, you may be a late discovered autistic woman. This book was fantastic and helped with my unpacking process.

Recommend. 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sarah]

Was für ein großartiges Buch! Ich bewundere Catherine Asta und bin dankbar für dieses tiefe Verständnis und die Hilfestellung die dieses Buch gibt. Man kann sehr viel damit arbeiten. Ich sehe es sozusagen als meine eigene Therapeutin, denn wir wissen ja, an Hilfe mangelt es an jeder Ecke!

[Melissa Annis]

Amazing book. I carried this around with me everywhere I went. It made me feel like I was not alone and was not weird. For any adult who is or might think they are neurodivergent it is a must read.