‘When you don’t understand something that important about yourself, [diagnosis is] almost a kind of cheat code to go back and understand things that you’ve been through.’

Each month we celebrate an Australian debut release of fiction or non-fiction in the Kill Your Darlings First Book Club. For August that debut is Late Bloomer: How an Autism Diagnosis Changed My Life by Clem Bastow, out now from Hardie Grant.

Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autistic, at age 36, that things clicked into focus.

With wit and warmth, Clem reflects as an Autistic adult on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, deconstructing the misconceptions and celebrating the realities of Autistic experience.

First Book Club host Ellen Cregan spoke with Clem about the book and the experience of writing it at a live online event hosted by Yarra Libraries.

Our theme song is Broke for Free’s ‘Something Elated’. Sound production by Lloyd Pratt.

Further reading:

Read CB Mako’s review of Late Bloomer in our August Books Roundup.

Read about Clem’s favourite books and reading habits in this month’s Shelf Reflection.

Clem wrote for KYD in 2015 about women screenwriters and ‘the obligation to represent’.

Late Bloomer is available now from your local independent bookseller.

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