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Letters to My Weird Sisters

On Autism and Feminism

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Letters to My Weird Sisters

By: Joanne Limburg
Narrated by: Jennifer Smith
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About this listen

An autistic feminist author looks at women's history, in search of her 'weird sisters.'

It seemed to me that many of the moments when my autism had caused problems, or at least marked me out as different, were those moments when I had come up against some unspoken law about how a girl or a woman should be, and failed to meet it.

An autism diagnosis in midlife enabled Joanne Limburg to finally make sense of why her emotional expression, social discomfort and presentation had always marked her as an outsider.

Eager to discover other women who had been misunderstood in their time, she writes a series of wide-ranging letters to four 'weird sisters' from history, addressing topics including autistic parenting, social isolation, feminism, the movement for disability rights and the appalling punishments that have been meted out over centuries to those deemed to fall short of the norm.

This heartfelt, deeply compassionate and wholly original work humanizes women who have so often been dismissed for their differences, and will be celebrated by 'weird sisters' everywhere.

©2021 Joanne Limburg (P)2022 Tantor Aging & Longevity Gender Studies Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Sexual & Reproductive Health Social Sciences Autism Mental Health
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Most relevant
This is a poignant read for any woman who has lived their life with undiagnosed autism.
Sensitively and tenderly put together yet super real, the author has managed to highlight the essence of the mutual experiences of being a female with an autistic mind, no matter what her personality type, nationality or the time in which she lives.
There are common threads for us all.
Above all, she tackles what is now known as masking. How unacceptable we are made to feel if we don’t and how we are abandoning ourselves when we do. Being real in an unreal world.
This book is refreshing and necessary in the movement towards embracing autism in a world that has become so false, that it needs autistic women and men to be themselves in order to evolve the world.

Validating, triggering, healing

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A fascinating, partly autobiographical examination of the subject presented through the experiences of four women from history. This is an Illuminating work, well-written and well-researched.

The narrator's style, however, is unsuited to the material. Whilst I don't wish to listen to a dirge, her bright and breezy delivery is quite jarring, as is her poor command of basic French and German pronunciation.

Epistolary reflections on autism in women

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The letter format was clever and absorbing - I learned so much about autism and appreciated the feminist angle. A fascinating and important book, marred rather by an irritating narrator. I would have much preferred to hear it in the author’s own voice.

Insightful and informative

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introspective and intersectional the writer shows a great understanding of the world she lives in as an autistic woman

amazing read

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