The Best Recent Reads from Neurodiverse Authors

Sometimes I intentionally seek out books written by neurodiverse authors or with characters on the spectrum. Other times, I’m surprised when they reveal themselves over the course of the story. Either way, I’m always interested. Autism and people with autism have always shaped my worldview. Here are a few compelling reads from my bookshelf.

Brother in Ice, by Alicia Kopf

I loved this book by Spanish author Alicia Kopf. It’s an unusual blend of autofiction and a history of Artic and Antarctic exploration. Kopf investigates the creative impulses of writers, artists, and explorers and considers the impact of a sibling with a disability on the shaping of a family.

When she writes, “That makes me think that one can extract energy from an unstable area. Like the perpetual need to construct meaning in those of us who find themselves in constant friction with the world,” I felt a kinship to her quest to understand her family.

Brother in Ice (Hermano de Hielo) won the English Pen Award.

Ten Steps to Nannette—A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby

This memoir made me laugh and cry and rage and laugh more. I can’t recommend it enough.

Hannah Gadsby is a fantastic storyteller. Ten Steps to Nannette—A Memoir Situation begins with her childhood in rural Tasmania in a big, chaotic family and realizing she’s gay during some of Australia’s most homophobic years. (Homosexuality was illegal in Australia until 1997.)

Nearly failing in school, unemployable, a victim of violence, and sometimes homeless, Gadsby unaccountably becomes a wildly internationally successful comedian.

It’s not until she’s in her thirties and well-established in her career that she (spoiler alert!) is diagnosed with autism.

This is a survivor’s story told with clarity, compassion, and humor. The audiobook of Ten Steps to Nanette is read by Gadsby, who has a wonderful, singular voice.

A Room Called Earth, by Madeline Ryan

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel from Australian author Madeline Ryan.

In A Room Called Earth, the reader accompanies the narrator—an independent and solitary young woman—through an evening of getting ready to go out and attending a party. While that may sound short on action, the narrator’s ongoing analysis of her moment-to-moment experience is fascinating and full of feeling. She keeps herself at a distance from others she interacts with, but instead of aloofness, Ryan conveys a deep intimacy through her character’s intense observation of others.

Ryan was diagnosed with autism during the writing of this book and is an outspoken advocate of neurodiversity.

Next on my TBR list: Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and Abstractions by Temple Grandin.

Got a recommendation? Drop me a line and let me know.