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Reviews tagging 'Ableism'
Odd Girl Out: An Autistic Woman in a Neurotypical World by Laura James
7 reviews
_p0ssum_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Mental illness
kayla_kamldecker's review
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.0
I am autistic, and I usually enjoy reading books written by autistic authors. However, this book was fairly triggering for me. The author focuses on all of her struggles in live, the difficulties she faces, and the negative reactions of people in her life including her husband. She uses phrases such as the "flawed thinking at the heart of [her] autism", painting autism in a very negative light, rather than a neutral difference in our brains. I wish she'd balanced out the drawbacks with autistic strengths, or perhaps just described her life as it is, without adding a value judgment. I believe the author has a lot of internalized ableism she needs to work through. This book was hard to finish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I’m sure it did Laura James a lot of good to write this book. Good for her.
It was a strong contrast to my last autistic read (Unmasking Autism) in terms of classism, sexism and even a bit of ableism. James has this notion of autism where she says it’s a disability that she doesn’t work in spite of, but the underlying vibe of most of her book feels like she treats it like an illness she’s trying to fight. And I get that she’s on a journey, but so much of the book felt like she was battling her autism instead of embracing it.
I think it didn’t help that we are on wildly different paths. She’s gen X, adopted, married, a mother of 4. I’m a millenial who grew up with her single mother, single with cats for children. We couldn’t be more different and some parts of her story bored me to death for that reason. I didn’t care about her children or empty-nest syndrome or whatever. I didn’t care about how her husband didn’t understand her and even raised some orange-reddish flag at times.
I also question her choice of professionals, nearly all of which are neurotypical. She says at one point that autistic voices should be heard more, but she only mentions in passing most autistic people she knows or talk to.
And yet, I found stuff to relate to. Little sentences here and there that solidify this diagnosis in my head, when I managed to untangle what were autistic traits in comparison to her being adopted, an ex-addict or just herself. Some of it was easier than other.
Laura James’ life is one of many autistic experiences. There are as many more as there are autistic people, and it would be a disservice to the community to consider this one above others. It’s a white, middle class, British woman’s perspective that bring a little more to the compendium of autistic writing, but not enough in my opinion to be worth what other, more recent work have.
It was a strong contrast to my last autistic read (Unmasking Autism) in terms of classism, sexism and even a bit of ableism. James has this notion of autism where she says it’s a disability that she doesn’t work in spite of, but the underlying vibe of most of her book feels like she treats it like an illness she’s trying to fight. And I get that she’s on a journey, but so much of the book felt like she was battling her autism instead of embracing it.
I think it didn’t help that we are on wildly different paths. She’s gen X, adopted, married, a mother of 4. I’m a millenial who grew up with her single mother, single with cats for children. We couldn’t be more different and some parts of her story bored me to death for that reason. I didn’t care about her children or empty-nest syndrome or whatever. I didn’t care about how her husband didn’t understand her and even raised some orange-reddish flag at times.
I also question her choice of professionals, nearly all of which are neurotypical. She says at one point that autistic voices should be heard more, but she only mentions in passing most autistic people she knows or talk to.
And yet, I found stuff to relate to. Little sentences here and there that solidify this diagnosis in my head, when I managed to untangle what were autistic traits in comparison to her being adopted, an ex-addict or just herself. Some of it was easier than other.
Laura James’ life is one of many autistic experiences. There are as many more as there are autistic people, and it would be a disservice to the community to consider this one above others. It’s a white, middle class, British woman’s perspective that bring a little more to the compendium of autistic writing, but not enough in my opinion to be worth what other, more recent work have.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Sexism, Classism, and Transphobia
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Laura James tells a vulnerable, interesting story of her life and her relationship with her family and her autism diagnosis. It was an intimate view of her marriage, her self-view and how she related to and understood her diagnosis.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Mental illness
Minor: Drug abuse
forrestalexander's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
readingwithkt's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I listened to the audiobook of this title and overall I thought it was a memoir worth reading.
It follows Laura James' experience of her autism diagnosis, how it affected her life, her journey in understanding her neurodiverse mind, and how she ultimately comes to accept herself and find healthier ways to cope with those things that neurotypicals take for granted.
It follows Laura James' experience of her autism diagnosis, how it affected her life, her journey in understanding her neurodiverse mind, and how she ultimately comes to accept herself and find healthier ways to cope with those things that neurotypicals take for granted.
Firstly, the audiobook narration by Louiza Patikas was lovely - very engaging and authentic (it was only after I finished that I realised I hadn't been listening to the author narrate their own story).
I enjoyed following Laura James' journey in making sense of things, of suddenly having a label to understand things she had previously not understood about herself, and how she comes to accept herself as she is.
I did find some of the narrative quite repetitive - covering the same themes and ideas over and over again. I think this is because Laura James is writing this while on this journey, and so inevitably reflecting on similar themes as they come up time and again for her. A tighter edit would have probably made this more digestible.
In places, I also found the structure confusing. There was one section in particular where James was discussing her children leaving home and having an empty nest and how she had left her husband, and then suddenly we were with James and her young children in the family home. I found this very confusing and difficult to follow.
I was surprised to hear Laura James say she found herself reflected in The Rosie Project, as I had previously heard autistic people say they find this portrayal leans into unhelpful stereotypes. However, James shares that she found helpful ways of coping through the pages of that book.
I'm glad I read this one and would recommend it to those seeking to understand more about autism, especially if autism is something you're not familiar with and you want to understand how it is experienced. Personally, I'd recommend reading Stim, edited by Lizzie Huxley-Jones, which is an anthology covering a wide range of voices, each exploring their diverse experiences. If I remember rightly, Laura James has a piece in that anthology (I'm pretty sure that's how I stumbled across this book).
I enjoyed following Laura James' journey in making sense of things, of suddenly having a label to understand things she had previously not understood about herself, and how she comes to accept herself as she is.
I did find some of the narrative quite repetitive - covering the same themes and ideas over and over again. I think this is because Laura James is writing this while on this journey, and so inevitably reflecting on similar themes as they come up time and again for her. A tighter edit would have probably made this more digestible.
In places, I also found the structure confusing. There was one section in particular where James was discussing her children leaving home and having an empty nest and how she had left her husband, and then suddenly we were with James and her young children in the family home. I found this very confusing and difficult to follow.
I was surprised to hear Laura James say she found herself reflected in The Rosie Project, as I had previously heard autistic people say they find this portrayal leans into unhelpful stereotypes. However, James shares that she found helpful ways of coping through the pages of that book.
I'm glad I read this one and would recommend it to those seeking to understand more about autism, especially if autism is something you're not familiar with and you want to understand how it is experienced. Personally, I'd recommend reading Stim, edited by Lizzie Huxley-Jones, which is an anthology covering a wide range of voices, each exploring their diverse experiences. If I remember rightly, Laura James has a piece in that anthology (I'm pretty sure that's how I stumbled across this book).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Ableism
demo's review
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders
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