Autism Memoir Chronicles 60-Year Journey Toward Self-Understanding

A former national newspaper journalist has written a deeply personal memoir describing her 60-year journey before finally understanding she is autistic.

The book, titled Mother tough, explores the author’s life, family history, and long search for identity after she received a late diagnosis of autism at the age of 58 following an online test during the COVID-19 pandemic. A formal assessment later confirmed the diagnosis.

The author recalls growing up in Edinburgh in the 1960s and 70s, where she often felt different from others but did not understand why. Raised in a household marked by fear and emotional complexity, she spent much of her childhood trying to blend in socially while masking her difficulties.

In her memoir, she describes decades of anxiety, bullying at school, struggles with social expectations, and episodes of intense emotional distress that she later came to understand as autistic burnout. She also reflects on her tendency to create detailed imaginary worlds through crafts and miniature models as a way of coping with overwhelming experiences.

The memoir further explores the wider context of autism, including the challenges of late diagnosis particularly among women and the role of historical bias in diagnostic systems that have often overlooked autistic females.

According to the publisher, the book aims to shed light on the realities of living for decades without understanding one’s neurodivergence and highlights the importance of greater awareness and recognition of autism in society. The memoir is available in bookstores and online retail platforms.

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