Enemy For A Brain: A Debut Memoir Navigating Tourette's, Autism, and Life After Becoming Disabled

by Zara Beth

What would you do if one day you woke up, and your brain suddenly became your enemy? If your life changed as you once knew it, and left you scrambling for hope?

This honest, relatable memoir follows the life of content creator Zara Beth, as she navigates new health diagnoses, and embarks on a journey of accepting her ever-changing disabled body.

Detailing the chaos-filled ups and downs of Tourette’s syndrome, life as a wheelchair user, managing chronic illness, and discovering freedom after an autism diagnosis—this book will take you on a journey of learning and self acceptance.

Zara shares stories from her school years, talking about the effects of bullying and social media, the pressures of growing up undiagnosed autistic, and how she navigated becoming disabled as a teenager. She shares funny, lighthearted moments while also educating on the darker sides of her conditions, helping to break down stereotypes and share her experience with disability.

Written by a neurodivergent person, for neurodivergent people, this memoir will make you laugh and cry while providing real-life stories for people to relate to. It is a reminder that we are never truly alone, and that there is always a community waiting for us.


'A brilliant, important, and deeply personal read into the life of a neurodivergent person living with chronic illnesses. It is a must read for anyone looking to learn about disability, neurodivergence or chronic illness.' - EMILY KATY, author of Girl Unmasked

Genres: Disability, Nonfiction

301 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2025

Reviews

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

can’t wait!

[Emily Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Enemy for a Brain' is a brilliant, important, and deeply personal read into the life of a neurodivergent person living with chronic illnesses. Zara's bravery and honesty in sharing her story will help countless young people feel less alone. It will be a comforting and helpful guide for so many. It is a must read for anyone looking to learn about disability, neurodivergence or chronic illness, and for those working with and supporting neurodivergent or chronically ill individuals. Zara's incredibly articulated story has taught me so much and it will leave a lasting impact.

[[bread emoji] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d like to take the time to write a proper review later, but for now: I’ve just finished reading this book (I haven’t actually slept yet—the notification came through and I couldn’t put it down!), and I truly cannot recommend it highly enough. It’s clear that so much love and care went into every page, and this book will resonate with and be a massive comfort to many. I’m still a little teary. 💞 Zara should be so incredibly proud of this book and all that went into it.

[Helen Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing! A powerful account of disability struggles, cannot recommend it enough

[Ez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey Zara! I loved your book. thank you for being so open and vulnerable in sharing your experiences of chronic illness. I've been subscribed for a while after you shared about FND. I myself started having symptoms in 2017 and was diagnosed in 2021 and was looking for anyone out there talking about it. 2 years ago I also figured out I was autistic and I also have long covid, so I could relate to a lot of the things in your book.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially with the FND lens as there are not many people talking about it, despite it being such a huge reason for neurology referrals. Thank you for sharing your life story with the world. I have been using mobility aids for a while and have been debating purchasing an active wheelchair for a number of years. After reading your book, I've decided that I should just go for it as it will bring me more freedom and independence. thank you for challenging me in that :) the book launch event was so great too and it was really incredible for me to meet other people with fnd as before that event, I had never met anyone in person with fnd, so I just want to thank you for that opportunity. all the best on your future writing - keep using your gift! 🌻

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved this book so much. thank you Zara for sharing your story.

[Saskia Egeland-Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve followed Zara online for a few years and have been so excited to read this book since I first heard about it. It is an honest and easily digestible read about Zara’s life and journey with chronic illness, disability and neurodivergence (with some queer pride too!) that will be a great comfort and light in the darkness for many people. Although it is a memoir and not everyone will relate to all parts of it, there are helpful takeaways for pretty much anyone who reads it. I was particularly struck by the impressive ways in which Zara has managed to shift her perspective on struggles and frustrations and to focus on the positives without denying the negatives. Despite the title (which will be a very relatable sentiment to a lot of people), this book is incredibly hopeful and I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about these topics for themselves or for someone they wish to support, or just out of interest.

[Pippa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great to read Zara’s origin story and find out a little more about her experiences of unmasking and embracing her disability as she finds her place in the world, and this book has the ingredients to be a very affirming read for individuals. For me, the most impactful moments of the book came from the chapters chronicling Zara's diverse lived experiences of Tourette’s syndrome and how this affects her in day-to-day life. I had only understood the basics of Tourette’s beforehand, but after reading I now feel much more equipped to be a friend and ally to anybody living with the condition!

[Georgia Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good omg, it’s honestly the best book I’ve ever read I don’t know how to explain it, as someone who has Tourette’s and is going through secondary school (nesrly done but still) this is so good and has helped me accept myself for my Tourette’s thank u so much Zara it’s amazing!!

[Aesir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm french so I will do a review in english and french

Ce livre était absolument incroyable. On a pu plonger dans la vie de Zara, découvrir des choses et ouah. Juste ouah. Je conseille vraiment ce livre. Je n'ai pas de tic ou de seizures et vraiment, nous qui ne connaissons pas ces sensations nous devons lire ce livre pour mieux comprendre la vie des personnes qui vivent ça tout les jours. Vraiment merci Zara pour ce livre très bien écrit et très clair.

Even if it was in english everything was perfectly understandable. I read it in less than 24h. Thank Zara for sharing all of this. Your descriptions allowed me to understand what it look like to have tics, seizures and live with chronic illness. I'm also autistic and it's thank to your videos that I manage to really think about it and finally to getting a diagnostic. Thanks for everything you did

This book was incredible. Your writing style is incredible too and completly understandable even for people who doesn’t have english as their mother tongue. If you published other books in the future (fictional or non fictional) you can be sure that I will buy them.

To all the people who doesn’t know if they should read this book. Buy it and try it and you will see you will be happy of your choice.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

highly recommended!
For disabled, neurodivergent people and anyone who wants to learn about life with disability.
Very accessible to read.
Thank you Zara.

[Quinten Van meijeren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t put it in words how good this book is and how informative and supporting it is as a neurodivergent myself and for the other conditions.

Thank you Zara for making this book

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zara!!! What an incredible book. Your story is powerful, your writing is beautiful, and you are truly inspiring. When I first saw your post about writing a book, I was so excited—and it did not disappoint.

As someone who also has POTS, I’m always drawn to books that include disability representation or share real experiences with chronic illness. It’s something I can relate to in a deep way, especially since most of my friends don’t fully understand what it’s like. Reading Enemy for a Brain felt like having a heartfelt conversation with someone who just gets it.

There was one paragraph about finding your people that struck me so deeply—I even sent a picture of it to my best friend who has a neurological condition. It reminded me of the moment we found each other, and how comforting it is to be seen and understood.

Please keep writing, keep posting, and keep educating. You are helping so many people—myself included. This book has helped me process parts of my own health journey, and I’m so grateful for that. Keep going—you’re making such a difference.

[Zara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book!!!!
I can't believe this is finally coming out in the world. I hope you all love it as much as i enjoyed writing :)

This book has my entire heart and soul put into it, and i wrote the book i wish i'd had at the start of my journey ❤️

I hope that many people can resonate with this & that my book can be comforting to those of you going through health issues or who are trying to accept yourselves after a neurodivergent diagnosis, or if you're just somebody who wants to accept themselves and find more joy in life... I wrote this for all of you!

I appreciate every single comment, share, review & all the support you guys are already giving this book even though it's not even published yet?!!

It means the world to me so thank you, and if you do end up reading the book, please write it and feel free to share so that more people can see it. Every single one helps 🫶🏻

[Bethany Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a life changing and eye opening book! Goes through how to deal with certain issues as a disabled/chronically ill/nuerodivergent person like bullying, ableism, medical trauma, NHS waiting lists, grief, acceptance and so much more! It has really opened my mind into this new perspective of life. Learning to adapt and do things my own way. At the very end of the book she has also listed some helplines which could help save so many lives and she has also added trigger warnings at the beginning of the book and shows which chapters they are at so that is super useful too. I love how inclusive this book is!

[Lou S ★彡 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god this was actually so freaking good!!!!!! I’ve watched Zara Beth’s youtube videos for a little over 2 years and her writing is just as good as her videos and her music! This book was so validating and opened my eyes to the struggles of FND and using mobility aids. I could relate so much to the mental health struggles of the book. This book offered MANY ways to help you accommodate for your disabilities in different situations, and offered lots of advice for getting through the darkest parts of life. I would highly recommend!! :)

[Stan van de Wiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book, it really gives you an insight in Zara's life off camera. Very interesting book with a lot of interesting facts about disabilities, chronic illness and navigating life with them. I loved reading the book and was really surprised how easy I got through it since I usually struggle with reading non-fiction books, I got through it in just a few days and I only wanted to read more :))

Definitely recommend picking it up and reading it!!