Kirsti's Reviews > Strong Female Character

What's it like growing up in a household where your family members dislike you? The Scottish comedian Fern Brady knows. Brady has autism, but it wasn't diagnosed until adulthood. She also grew up poor. She had advantages too—including intelligence, musical ability, and beauty—but her family's bafflement with her and her feelings of not-wantedness were corrosive. To be fair, if someone in my household had meltdowns regularly and scowled when spoken to and scratched their own skin when anyone touched them, I would probably dislike them too.

Brady is a comedian, but I wouldn't call this memoir funny at all. It's heartfelt and smart and useful and sometimes bizarre (the chapters on working in strip clubs are something else). I learned a lot about autistics, allistics (people who aren't on the autism spectrum), Scotland, and finding a way to win. Also she reads the audiobook, and I could listen to her voice all day.