Neurodiversity Reads discussion

Just found this via an email list featuring free or nearly free kindle books and know nothing about the book or the author: Twirling Naked in the Streets and No One Noticed; Growing Up With Undiagnosed Autism [Kindle Edition]http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CB4WZT2/?...

I read her blog. She's good. *goes to check out the book listing*

I like her blog for the most part. I've read part of the book, and I feel conflicted about it. On the one hand, it feels very honest and I think it's important to have diverse voices sharing their honest experiences. On the other hand, though, it feels a lot like she's using autism to lob accusations at her mother at times because of included "quotes" that seem a little over the top. I remember one of them (from her mother) flat-out described her as a little bitch (when she was like 6-7). I don't want to accuse the writer of being dishonest, because she may have been very accurate, but the presentation in the book feels a little bit like villainizing.

I'm not saying don't read it, because there are really great moments in there and a lot of things I identified with, but know that there are also problematic points where it becomes difficult to continue without acknowledging some hyperbole.

Ah, thanks. I didn't end up getting it yesterday because I have a high-interest loan coming due in a week so I'm clinging on to every shred of money I have until after I've paid as much of it off as I can and re-financed the rest.

I will probably still read her book, but it's been pushed a little bit farther down my list. In some ways, though, I want to read it *more* now because one thing that has held me back from writing more about my own life is the fear that I will come across as villainizing and, especially, that I will end up unfairly villainizing people. So it would be good for me to see a book that might have come across that way itself, to analyze what she did that I might (or might not) want to avoid.