Review #35
When it comes to reading stories, be they fictional or non-fictional – one can try to get the message that the author is trying to convey, or sometimes we may get something completely different out of a work.
I’ve always appreciated anthologies since rather than getting one story (which can sometimes get tedious), we get a variety of stories. In this anthology, we’re in for a treat as we actually get 51 essays. Some are as short as two pages and kind of read like an introduction post on a forum. Some give us their life story, others may select parts of their experiences to tell us about, and others yet may simply give us a walk through a day in their life.
Many of the contributors talk about special interests, work, stims, sensory concerns, relationship experiences, accomplishments, thoughts on autism, family, challenges with social interaction and interestingly, sexuality. This is the first collection where sexuality is openly discussed, and we see the full spectrum, from the asexuals and sex-repulsed to the sex addicts who just can’t get enough and everything in-between. There’s also a variety of orientations represented, and some representation from outside outside of the usual (i.e. UK/CA/US/AU). That being stated, the book is heavily skewed towards stories from Britain.
What I think the book does best is to show how stereotypes of autism are just that, and that the autistic population is just as colorful and diverse as the population at large and is by no means homogeneous, though of course certain traits, like introversion, are more commonly seen in the autistic population. With so many stories, there is lots that readers can connect with.
Score: 5.5/6.0
