Our Review
Overall rating:
Sydney’s rating:
Becky’s rating:
This is our first non-fiction book that we have read for the Mental Health Book Club Podcast. The book is written by Emma Louise Bridge, a 24-year-old female diagnosed with Autism and this is a collection of her diary entries exploring Emma’s world. After each diary entry Penelope Bridge, Emma’s mother, adds her own thoughts about the entries and summarises the main points that have a profound impact on Emma’s life.
We read about different scenarios that Emma faces which provide a real insight into the differences in the way a person with autism processes the world. Emma describes different ways of thinking, such as, literal thinking, theory of mind the impact changes in routine may have. There is also a lot of discussion on the issues that people may face as a result of hypersensitivities in terms of sound and touch and how Emma would find certain textures and noises difficult to handle.
This book really has two separate audiences – young people who might relate to the feelings and situations Emma describes, and those who are wanting to find out more about the impact of autism. The diary is interesting due to the insights into the workings of Emma’s mind and although Penelope’s summaries pull you out of Emma’s mind and sometimes detracts from the diary itself, it does provide valuable information that the second audience may be seeking.
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