Description

A playful guide to understanding the ways of ‘normal people’, The Autist’s Guide to the Galaxy flips our usual scripts about neurodiversity.

Following on from her internationally successful memoir, The Autists, Clara Toernvall has written a fun, comprehensive, and accessible explanation of neurotypical, or ‘normal’, behaviour. Full of facts, tips, and tests, and developed with input from other autists, this book places the difficulties autists face in the context of a world built for the neurotypical majority. It will help neurodiverse people – and their families, friends, and loved ones – navigate this world, nurture stronger relationships, and thrive.

Publisher Review

Praise for The Autists:

‘Toernvall has written an important, illuminating first book, one that deserves to sit alongside the best insider accounts of autism … [The Autists] should be required reading for all parents, partners, friends, and colleagues of anyone on the autism spectrum, as well as a road map for autistic women navigating the neurotypical world.’ — James Cook * Times Literary Supplement * Praise for The Autists:

‘Journalist Toernvall seeks comfort in the stories of other autistic women throughout history in her illuminating debut … An insightful and involving narrator, Toernvall movingly explores how women with so-called “high-functioning autism” persisted in harnessing their abilities whether or not they lived in a time that recognised their neurotype. This winning combination of memoir and cultural history stimulates and entertains in equal measure.’ — Publishers Weekly, starred review Praise for The Autists:

‘Even if you ought to avoid hyping the autistic as superheroes, Toernvall shows that conformity to the norm is a ludicrous waste of the power in these beautiful brains.’ — Dagens Nyheter Praise for The Autists:

‘The Autists is a medical, cultural, psychological history of autism research, diagnosis, and representation. It is framed as a memoir, but goes far beyond that … This will be an eye-opening and useful book for people with preconceptions about autism and autists … This is an excellent book to help you understand how autism works, full of clear and entertaining examples and anecdotes, beautifully written and translated (by Alice E. Olsson) so that it reads smoothly and swiftly. Whether you are neurodivergent, know someone who is, or are simply interested in seeing the world as it really is, there is a lot to be learned from this short entertaining book.’ — Henry Oliver * The Common Reader * Praise for The Autists:

‘Toernvall was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 42, and The Autists takes her own experience as a lens through which to explore the phenomena and experiences of autistic women more generally. Its research is wide-ranging … I was particularly delighted by Toernvall’s chapter on language, “Too Much Faith in Words”.’ — Caitlin McGregor * Sydney Review of Books *