14 of My Favorite Books for Autistic Adults + 20 on My To-Read List

Most of these books are catered toward autistic adults, especially women and those who were diagnosed later in life.

1. Autism and Masking: How and Why People Do It, and the Impact It Can Have by Dr. Felicity Sedgewick, Dr. Laura Hull, and Helen Ellis

• Offers detailed descriptions of different types of masking and their complexities
• Centers internal accounts of masking from autistic individuals
• Published January 1, 2022
• 269 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59979969-autism-and-masking?from_search=true&from_srp=sFh2k5ZLyz&qid=1

2. Divergent Mind by Jenara Nerenberg

• Focuses on neurodivergent women
• Includes autism, ADHD, HSP (highly sensitive person), and synesthesia
• Emphasizes the importance of accounting for sensory sensitivity instead of pathologizing behavioral responses
• Published March 24, 2020
• 256 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44285784-divergent-mind?from_search=true&from_srp=o0I9ha260R&qid=1

3. Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity by Dr. Devon Price

• Focuses on experiences of masking
• Reframes stereotypes
• Incorporates exercises for unmasking and embracing neurodiversity
• Published April 5, 2022
• 304 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58537365-unmasking-autism?from_search=true&from_srp=3fOgmW4YjV&qid=1

4. Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Understanding Life Experiences from Early Childhood to Old Age by Sarah Hendrickx

• Includes many in-depth interviews of autistic women and their diverse experiences during each stage of life
• Debunks myths and helps validate my experiences as an autistic woman
• Published January 1, 2015
• 248 pages
• Expanded 2nd ed. will be published in 2024!
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25519486-women-and-girls-with-autism-spectrum-disorder

5. Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity (anthology by the Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network) edited by Emily Paige Ballou, Sharon daVanPort, and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu

• Catered toward both autistic adults and the parents of autistic children
• Focused on the life stories of female and nonbinary autistic people
• Wildly helpful in processing the grief of a late-diagnosis
• Published March 30, 2021
• 224 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54615849-sincerely-your-autistic-child?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18

6. Knowing Why: Adult-Diagnosed Autistic People on Life and Autism (anthology by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network) edited by Elizabeth Bartmess

• A short anthology by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network
• Focuses on late-diagnosed autistic adults and how their diagnosis changed their lives
• Published October 17, 2018
• 150 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42401019-knowing-why?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_15

7. Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking (anthology by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network) edited by Julia Bascom

• A lengthy and comprehensive anthology by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network
• Features both prose and poetry from a range of autistic individuals
• Tackles ethical issues such as Autism Speaks, institutionalization, and different paradigms of autism throughout history
• Published January 1, 2012
• 408 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16328437-loud-hands?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14

8. All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism by Lydia X.Z. Brown, E. Ashkenazy, and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu (editors)

• Another lengthy and comprehensive anthology that focuses specifically on autistic people of color
• Tackles ethical issues such as police brutality
• Features unique intersectional experiences, such as the overlap between “passing” both in terms of race and neurology (similar to masking)
• 500 pages
• Published June 19, 2017
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29360622-all-the-weight-of-our-dreams?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_28

9. Taking Off the Mask: Practical Exercises to Help Understand and Minimize the Effects of Autistic Camouflaging by Dr. Hannah Louise Belcher

• Focuses on brief explanations of masking, both by autistic people and neurotypical people
• Includes many exercises that help identify how one’s masking manifests and how they can begin their unmasking journey
• Published September 21, 2022
• 160 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/62216518

10. Autistic State of Mind: The Chaotic Symphony of a Late-Diagnosed Woman’s Mind by Kayla Francis

• Impressive, short internal accounts of autism from a late-diagnosed woman
• Published April 25, 2023
• 77 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141688410-autistic-state-of-mind?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_22

11. On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity by Daniel Bowman Jr.

• Unique book on the intersections between autism and Christian faith and how diagnosis can strengthen faith
• Includes important discussions on representation of autism in media and the #OwnVoices movement
• Written by a professor who sponsors a group for neurodivergent students on his college campus
• Published August 10, 2021
• 256 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55784756-on-the-spectrum?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_28

12. The Autism and Neurodiversity Self-Advocacy Handbook by Barb Cook and Yenn Purkis

• Written by two autistic activists
• Features practical advice on self-advocacy across an array of life situations
• Published February 21, 2022
• 168 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60820687-the-autism-and-neurodiversity-self-advocacy-handbook?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_34

13. Odd Girl Out: My Extraordinary Autistic Life by Laura James

• Memoir by a late-diagnosed autistic woman
• The narrative follows her journey from pre-diagnosis to post-diagnosis
• Published on April 6, 2017
• 226 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34617842-odd-girl-out?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_14

14. Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women by Dr. Sarah Bargiela

• A graphic novel with statistics on the differences between autistic men and women
• Includes personal accounts and life experiences of autistic women
• Published on March 21, 2019
• 48 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42415482-camouflage?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_10

On My To-Read List

1. What I Mean When I Say I’m Autistic: Unpuzzling A Life on the Autism Spectrum by Annie Kotowicz

• Written by an autistic woman who is also author of the blog Neurobeautiful: https://neurobeautiful.com/
• Published on October 1, 2022
• 110 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62842156-what-i-mean-when-i-say-i-m-autistic?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_35

2. Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism by Barb Cook and Dr. Michelle Garnett (editors)

• Published on August 21, 2018
• 288 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38884913-spectrum-women?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_23

3. Letters to My Weird Sisters: On Autism and Feminism by Joanne Limburg

• Published on July 1, 2021
• 272 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57676683-letters-to-my-weird-sisters?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_22

4. Neuroqueer Heresies by Nick Walker

• Focuses on neuroqueer theory
• Published on November 29, 2021
• 196 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59645969-neuroqueer-heresies?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_15

5. Late Bloomer: How an Autism Diagnosis Changed My Life by Clem Bastow

• Published on July 7, 2021
• 272 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57575357-late-bloomer?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_25

6. What to Say Next: Successful Communication in Work, Life, and Love — with Autism Spectrum Disorder by Sarah and Larry Nannery

• Published on March 20, 2021
• 304 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50892173-what-to-say-next?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_16

7. Neurotribes: the Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity by Steve Silberman

• Published on August 1, 2015
• 589 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33864117-neurotribes

8. Poems of the Neurodivergent Experience by Jaclyn Pensiero

• Published on July 5, 2023
• 139 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/185708534-poems-of-the-neurodivergent-experience

9. Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism by Barry M. Prizant, PhD

• Published August 1, 2015
• 256 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23492643-uniquely-human?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14

10. We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation by Eric Garcia

• Published on August 3, 2021
• 281 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55985404-we-re-not-broken?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_42

11. Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent’s Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After by Chloé Hayden

• Published on August 30, 2022
• 278 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61416564-different-not-less?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18

12. But You Don’t Look Autistic at All by Bianca Toeps

• Published on April 1, 2019
• 220 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54555150-but-you-don-t-look-autistic-at-all?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18

13. Workplace Neurodiversity Rising by Lyric Rivera and edited by Lee Hulme

• Published on November 25, 2022
• 197 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63840387-workplace-neurodiversity-rising?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_31

14. Untypical: How the World Isn’t Built for Autistic People and What We Should All Do About It by Pete Wharmby

• Published on March 30, 2023
• 256 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61111570-untypical?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_25

15. What I Want to Talk About: How Autistic Special Interests Shape a Life by Pete Wharmby

• Published on September 21, 2022
• 224 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61111675-what-i-want-to-talk-about?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_38

16. Drama Queen: One Autistic Woman and a Life of Unhelpful Labels by Sara Gibbs

• Published on June 24, 2021
• 340 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57663544-drama-queen?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_25

17. The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy by Jennifer Brunton and Jenna Gensic

• Published on February 21, 2022
• 320 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60423947-the-actuallyautistic-guide-to-advocacy?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_21

18. Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in Their Own Words by Maxfield Sparrow (editor)

• Published on September 21, 2020
• 240 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54377966-spectrums?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_27

19. Authoring Autism: On Rhetoric and Neurological Queerness by Melanie Yergeau

• Published on December 1, 2017
• 312 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33673918-authoring-autism?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=y98ubqD1hO&rank=1

20. War on Autism: On the Cultural Logic of Normative Violence by Anne McGuire

• Published on April 28, 2016
• 274 pages
• GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28013784-war-on-autism