Dispatches from Ray's Planet: A Journey through Autism

by Claire Finlayson

Dispatches from Ray's Planet is based on a conversation between a neurotypical sister and her neurodivergent brother.This remarkable written correspondence pulls back the curtain on an inner life Claire couldn't have imagined. Where in-person interactions plunged Rayinto hot water, his writing revealed a compassionate, funny, sad man who showed extraordinary insight into his way of navigating the world. Ray was fifty when Claire realized he might have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but by then, having survived without a diagnosis his whole life, Ray was reluctant to have a label pinned on him and resisted Claire's efforts to fix him by trying, in all sincerity, to make him more like her.

Dispatches from Ray's Planet draws on Ray and Claire's correspondence to tell the story of two siblings from two very different planets. There are thousands of Rays in our world. In this collective memoir, Claire and Ray share their journey with the hope that others can also learn that we all perceive the world in different ways, and that "different" does not necessarily mean "wrong."

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2025

Reviews

[Marilyn Bowker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most enlightening books I have had the privilege to read. Ray is an intriguing person, and Claire's ongoing motivation to understand how her brother experiences the world is courageous and loving. I cannot recommend it highly enough.