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  • Strong Female Character

  • By: Fern Brady
  • Narrated by: Fern Brady
  • Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (172 ratings)

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Strong Female Character

By: Fern Brady
Narrated by: Fern Brady
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Publisher's Summary

Fern Brady was told she couldn't be autistic because she's had loads of boyfriends and is good at eye contact. This is a story of how being female can get in the way of being autistic and how being autistic gets in the way of being the 'right kind' of woman.

©2023 Fern Brady (P)2023 Octopus Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"Of course it's funny - it's Fern Brady - but this book is also deeply moving and eye-opening." (Adam Kay)

"It made me laugh out loud and broke my heart and made me weep...I hope absolutely everyone reads this, and it makes them kinder and more curious about the way we all live." (Daisy Buchanan)

"Glorious. Frank but nuanced, a memoir that doesn't sacrifice voice or self-awareness. And it has brilliant things to say about being autistic and being funny." (Elle McNicoll)

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Amazing

I’ve never left a review on anything before but this book was amazing and I just had to. Fern explains her life with ASD with humour, and a straightness which is refreshing! This book was strangely comforting as I realised there are people just like me out there publicly admitting to the ongoing battle of daily life and masking.

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BRILLIANT

Funny, clever, compelling. Thank you Fern Brady! Wish I could give it 10 stars! Best book of 2023 so far.

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Raw, entertaining, informative

Thank you Fern for sharing your experiences as an autistic woman. it was really interesting to get a peek behind the mask of your public persona.
This is a great addition to the growing amount of material emerging around the under diagnosis of neuro divergence, especially in women. I couldn't help but empathise with Fern's struggles - I've known a few girls lucky enough to have an early diagnosis. I really admire her ability to keep searching for a better approach to living in a world that seems so hostile and unwelcoming.

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Strong Female Author

Thank you Fern, for sharing your story with the world. As an Autistic woman, diagnosed at 54, I recognised myself in the less traumatic parts of the story. It is mind blowing how long it takes to recognise autism in girls and sad what a difference it makes in their lives. An excellent book, even better hearing the author read it.

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Brilliant insight into late diagnosis ASD

Great mix of reality, comedy, research and hope. It’s at times heartbreaking in the negligence of the systems that failed to diagnose earlier but told in a really empathetic and dark comedic way.

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brilliantly written, funny and factual

highly recommend! Great narration about navigating life as an autistic woman, quality comedic timing throughout.

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Great book

Loved this, refreshing to hear females with autism tell their stories and defy labels. Fern is hilarious

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What an incredible book.

I absolutely loved this book. I could relate to so much of it. Thank you for your honesty and humour while discussing such personal and often painful issues. It’s comforting to know that we are not alone.

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Fern, you’re a legend!!

I could listen to her talk all day. What an awesome, hilarious and insightful lady.

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Honest, funny & pretty magnificent!

I loved everything about Fern Brady’s ‘Strong Female Character’….witty, fierce, gobsmackingly-honest & highly amusing,. Incredible to hear her often intensely traumatic journey to self-awareness as a late-diagnosed, magnificent autistic woman.

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