Aspergirls is a wonderful book that is written by an Autistic Woman. Rudy does a wonderful job of addressing each individual aspect of life as a woman through the lens of Autism. While some of her advice is a little dated, she originally wrote this book in 2010, it is still pertinent and can help people understand their life experiences through the proper lens. 

This is one of the most highly recommended books that I honestly had trouble getting through. Bessel is one of the biggest pioneers in Trauma Therapy and this book shows why he is considered to be the Subject Matter Expert. The challenges I faced while reading it was not due to the information inside, but instead how it was presented. For me it felt too cold and too clinical, which made it off-putting. For as much as it can be enlightening, it can also be triggering for the reader. Finally, the last thing to keep in mind is that this is more of an academic book, meaning it can be difficult to read cover-to-cover. Instead I recommend reading one chapter at a time, choosing chapters that look interesting to you in that moment.

The Emotionally Absent Mother is one of the hardest hitting books that I have ever read. In the first two chapters the author comes out swinging by just identifying the normal, natural, needs that every child has. I recommend reading it first as the child and then as a parent. While it helped me understand a lot of my childhood, it also helped me recognize how I was passing down the same trauma to my own son. 

No Bad Parts is the newest book from Richard Schwartz and does a wonderful job of introducing individuals to Internal Family Systems theory. It is a great primer for starting parts work in your therapy, if your clinician is trained in it. Parts work is a fantastic way to not only work through past trauma, but also leads to a greater understanding of ourselves and why we do the things we do.

In a Different Key is a book about the history of the Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. It

A phenomenally well written book around one of the most controversial individuals attached to the Autism diagnosis. This book goes into great detail about the man associated with what used to be called Asperger’s Syndrome, and why we no longer use that term. His actions during the Nazi regimes time in power paint a very different picture than he tried to portray over the remainder of his life. There is a good reason we now call it Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder.

A Little Less Broken is one of my favorite books to recommend to people who are late diagnosed with either ADHD, ASD, or AuDHD. IT provides a wonderful example of how to reexamine past experiences through the lens of neurodivergence. This is, essentially, Marian’s memoir, as a late diagnosed Autistic Woman. While not all of her experiences can be related to, the general difficulties she faced often help us see our own struggles through a different light.