Girl Unmasked

'Emily's moving book is a powerful testimony that shines a light on the continued failure of health services to provide any kind of meaningful improvement for autistic people. Should be essential reading for mental health professionals and anyone with autism in their lives. ' - FERN BRADY, author of Strong Female Character. 'This book will bring so many readers self-recognition and comfort. ' - DEVON PRICE, author of Unmasking Autism. 'Vulnerable, affecting and deeply personal, this book will go from a message in a bottle to a rallying cry for many autistic women, girls and young people. We are not alone. ' - Elle McNicoll, bestselling author. 'A brilliant, thorough exploration of autistic experience, delivered with humanity, compassion and vivid clarity. ' - Pete Wharmby, author of Untypical. 'A magnificent read which manages to be informative, engaging, sad and uplifting all at the same time. Whether you're discovering that you're autistic yourself or you simply want to understand autistic people better, this is a must-read. ' - Cathy Wassell, CEO Autistic Girls Network charity & author of Nurturing Your Autistic Young Person. To the outside world, Emily looks like a typical girl, with a normal family, living an ordinary life. But inside, Emily does not feel typical, and the older she gets, the more she realises that she is different. As she finally discovers when she is 16, Emily is autistic. Girl Unmasked. is the extraordinary story of how she got there - and how she very nearly didn't. Still only 21, Emily writes with startling candour about the years leading up to her diagnosis. How books and imagination became her refuge as she sought to escape the increasing anxiety and unbearable stresses of school life; how her OCD almost destroyed her; how a system which did not understand autism let her down; and how she came so close to the edge that she and her family thought she would never survive. In this simple but powerful memoir, we see how family and friends became her lifeline and how, post-diagnosis, Emily came to understand her authentic self and begin to turn her life around, eventually becoming a mental health nurse with a desire to help others where she herself had once been failed. Ultimately uplifting, Girl Unmasked. is a remarkable insight into what it can be like to be autistic - and shows us that through understanding and embracing difference we can all find ways to thrive.