This was such a useful and interesting read for me, I think probably in most cases it’s helpful if you yourself are on the spectrum but if you’re interested in life stories and autobiographies it’s probably for you too. If you are on the spectrum however, this is likely to put you in touch with some things you can relate to.
I found that I am very much like Laura, although that isn’t to say I’ve had the same experiences as her. It’s just that the things she describes here are things I’ve felt myself. I think she struggles with quite a lot of things I don’t, but at the same time I could relate strongly to her on the difficulties we do share. One such thing is talking about our feelings. That is something I have struggled with since I can remember. I remember taking a letter to my Doctor and sitting there while she read it because I knew that the moment I got in there I would lie through my teeth rather than voice some of the things in my head. In this book, Laura finally explains the one thing I’ve never been able to find the words for; “I have trouble sharing my feelings because they belong to me, and if I share them, they might be misunderstood”. That’s exactly it for me, I don’t have the communication skills to properly express how I feel, and sometimes I don’t feel enough to really describe it, sometimes I don’t know how I feel.
For me this book explained quite a lot about neurotypical people for me, much as last month I thought I was one, and I feel like I understand a little bit more about why certain things frustrate them or even why certain things don’t. Laura’s husband Tim is Neurotypical and having recently had a conversation about my own thoughts about my place on the spectrum, hearing about Tim’s point of view really helped me understand where my Husband is with things. I’ve found myself explaining what I need, and I think it’s making his life easier, such as “can you be really instructional when I’m helping you because sometimes I simply don’t know what to do” is a simple and easy way to relieve both our frustrations which I honestly never thought about before.
The book allows us to follow Laura through many periods of her life and understand where she was mentally at any given time, the fact that she was able to come to terms with certain issues she had in her life and really move on with this is so encouraging. She tells us of her family and her relationships with other people, about reaching out to others on the spectrum in order to connect with someone she might understand and who might understand her. That’s a really valuable thing in life I think, having someone to truly understand you.
Odd Girl Out really is a wonderful read and I would recommend it to anybody who wants to read something like this, but be aware that it isn’t fiction, it isn’t written like a story, it’s very much a woman explaining her life to you and I found that fascinating but I’m extremely interested in Autism anyway and any relatability I found might not necessarily be there for you, but you might find you relate to other parts that I perhaps didn’t.
Rebbie Reviews 