Great story. I feel the same. I think since November we have seen the sun 3 tmes in NYC.
When the sun comes out it's big news people "what a beautiful day" cafe society jump starts. The depression lifts for a moment then twilighlight .

Paul Kostabi

It must be seasonal! I would rather be broke in the summer than broke in the winter...

Thanks for your blogs. Saw you in Boulder Colorado last Fall.

I always see the sun in your philosophical contemplations. Keep sowing- Sincerely,David

John this will really help me help my son when he gets down. I believe that change in seasons and weather do have an impact on who we feel and more so when someone has Asperger's. But change in how you view things can make an impacr too. I can remind my son of the times he has been so down he felt like why even be here any more and let him know he is still here. he made it through the hard times and he will gain.

Hi John,

I'm so glad you're feeling better. So many people feel better with more daylight. Certainly, it's not just individuals with Asperger's, although they're more prone to mood issues. I always ask my clients to write it down when they're feeling better. That way they can always go back to reread it when they're feeling bleak. So I'm glad you have this record.

Maybe you should join us in sunny California! We've had spring for months now.

I have finished reading your book, it was very interesting and I have a lot of questions. Is it OK to ask them here?

Sure, you are welcome to ask them here . . .

Thank you!

Now I have the green light, I realise I need more time to put the questions into words. So I'll just comment for now, and come back with the questions later.

Before reading your book, I read your blogs, and watched some of your videos on youtube. There's a slightly disturbing trace of animal-cruelty-humour, but other than that my general impression of you from the blogs and the videos is that you are a kind person, and on the youtube videos you come across as very acceptable. So the early part of the book was quite shocking in contrast.

The second thing I'll say is that you are obviously a strong character not to give up.

The third thing is that I'm glad to see how different you are from me. I suspect I have some degree of AS, and when I realised this a few months back I was extremely distressed at the notion that I was just a syndrome and not a unique individual. (Of course I could attribute these differences to gender, age, nationality, upbringing and lesser degree of AS, but I'll try not to think about that now.)

I remembered one of my questions - the dead baby joke. When you say something like that, does it just feel factual to you, or does it contain emotional content? I guess you know that for other people it would have emotional content.

When is the next book due, or is there no deadline?

I know these questions are very personal so please don't answer if you don't want to, you can just regard them as feedback on how I perceived the book.

"The best sister" - Reading this I wonder how you would have felt if you had more than one child - would you have had a best child? (I know NTs sometimes have favourite children, so I'm not sure how enlightening any reply will be WRT to AS in particular.) Did you ever ask Units Zero which sister was best - after all they would have had longest experience with each of them?

With respect to your first question about dead baby jokes . . . they really didn't mean anything at all. Those jokes made the rounds of high school kids back in the 1970s. I don't know if yiou were in high school then; if so, you may well remember them.

As to whether I would have a best child . . . not in the context of that story, because I would not be meeting the children and subsequently choosing or being chosen by one as a mate. So it's not a relevant question in that context.

I did not ask Zero which was best because I had already figured out that there could be differing opinions with respect to that, as I wrote.

OK that makes sense, thanks. Hope I didn't offend you.

(I always wonder when I read about people picking IVF embryos for implantation how they decide which ones to pick and which to leave frozen.)

I am not Aspy, but the (extreme) NT half of a 25 year marriage/relationship with a proto-Aspergian with a (diagnosed) Aspy son (17).

I learned that September was a difficult time for me and decided that I did not deal well with transitions (although I do get 'Spring fever' like clockwork) -- or perhaps big transitions. September is a big one, because of school, end of vacation and the demands of the busy month. Add to that mix the looming dark days of winter and it becomes a witches brew that packs a kick.

In our family, I am the most mercurial in mood, where my husband and son are continuously calm and consistent. My husband is termed 'the extreme optimist' and my son seems to maintain a logical outlook on life, serving as his constant ballast.

One could ask "is it gender that creates the difference?" How often has a woman been labeled 'emotional?'

I believe it's more complicated and simpler at the same time. I believe it's a function of the mix and amount of body chemicals coursing through our systems.

Thanks again for your thoughtful perspective.