Unmasking Mum: The Highs and Lows of Life as a Neurodivergent Parent

by Lisa Lloyd

“I’ve always been weird. Not in a mysterious, sexy way—more like a ‘Where’s her caregiver?’ kind of way.” When Lisa Lloyd became a mom, her own needs quickly dropped to the bottom of a very long list. But adjusting to life with kids was an uphill battle—complete with frequent meltdowns from both her and them. When her two children were diagnosed with autism, everything began to click. Her struggles growing up, the jobs she couldn’t keep, the emotional rollercoasters—maybe there had been a reason all along. In Unmasking Mum, Lisa shares her journey to being diagnosed with autism at 41. With wit and honesty, she explores the highs and lows of parenting while neurodivergent, offering hard-won insights and practical advice along the way. From sensory overload and boundary-challenged kids to the imposter syndrome that strikes when other parents seem to have it all together, Lisa tackles it all with warmth, humor, and heart. Bit by bit, she’s peeling away the mask to reveal the real woman who’s been there all along.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2026

Reviews

[Louise Ashdown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows on from Lisa's last book, newly diagnosed herself with Autism Lisa talks about her struggles with bringing up her two neurodiverse children. She also gives advice at the end of each chapter and at the back of the book. This book is very informative to those who have children with autism spectrum disorder and pathology demand avoidance (asd, pda). It talks about educational health care plans (echp).

[Reka · Rating 2 out of 5]

listened as it came up on audible recommendations
pro: easy to read , she is funny
con: repetitive, sweeping generalisations about what it’s like for different groups, unnecessarily long, reductionist , just didn’t enjoy

[Hannah W]

This is a book about being an ND parent to ND children, so, you could say, "relevant to my interests". I appreciated the focus on parenting as an ND person because so often memoirs on the topic seem to be by people who don't have children (or in the case of Odd Girl Out, just completely gloss over that part of their life) and (sorry to sound cliched) life as a parent really is very different to childfree life - your time and attention have to be distributed so differently. There was a lot here I could relate to.

But... (and this is my own sense of fairness/justice speaking) I think it's unfair for children who are too young to meaningfully consent to be put into the public eye, paraded on social media and generally discussed in an identifiable way. I acknowledge that these stories of ND families need to be told, but is it fair to do this with photos, videos and personal stories of particular children? What will happen if they grow up and listen to their mum (admittedly jokingly) referring to them as "little shits" repeatedly and telling the world about their potty training difficulties? The stories, including this one, could be told under a false name (but I suppose people with a social media presence are much more attractive to publishers, so without that maybe they wouldn't ever be told?). It's complicated, but ultimately the parent gains whilst their children may grow up to wish nothing about them was ever made public.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Lisa’s second book and it was fantastic. Whilst her first book was about having children with autism and PDA and that journey, this book was more focused on being a neurodivergent parent and what that looks like.
This book is about Lisa’s journey to being diagnosed and how she had adapted and masked her whole life to fit in. How getting her diagnosis and having children allowed her to finally take that mask off and learn who she is underneath.

Parenting is hard on the best of days. Parenting neurodivergent children is a whole other level. Add in being autistic yourself and parenting becomes a daily battle for balance. Supporting your children while trying to keep your own head above water. Trying to be everything that everyone around you needs but desperately trying to find moments of peace and rest for yourself. Trying to prevent burnout becomes a full time job.

I love Lisa’s humour and she always finds a way to thread some fun and joy into her stories.

I resonated with so much of Lisa’s story. This life can be unfathomable to anyone who lives outside of it and Lisa has done such a wonderful job of reassuring parents that we are doing our best and that that is always good enough.
Our families might not be on the typical path but that’s okay too.

[Sian May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what an eye opening book it's a great read and Lisa writes so well you really understand what she's saying and a lot of what she's said is just like she's written about me so Thank you Lisa Lloyd for writing this book and make me look at myself closer as I feel like I may have a touch of the tisms rather than being odd

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one word: brilliant. The most relatable book I've ever read. Filled with heart and humour, Lisa's voice shine through in this book. Essential for other autistic parents raising autistic children.

[Mrs A Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly book. It made me cry with tears of deep empathy for Lisa and compassion and validation for myself. Thank you for this book, thank you for validating our parenting journeys and our identities as neurodivergent people.