The best books for autistic women

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an autistic female myself and have worked in the field of autism for 20 years. I’ve written several books on the subject of autism, have an MA in Autism and delivered many hundreds of conference presentations (several of which can be found on Youtube). Frankly, I know my stuff as I live and breathe the world of autistic women. I have an autistic daughter, all of my female friends are autistic and I have diagnosed hundreds of females as autistic.


I wrote...

Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum: Understanding Life Experiences from Early Childhood to Old Age

By Sarah Hendrickx, Jess Hendrickx,

Book cover of Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum: Understanding Life Experiences from Early Childhood to Old Age

What is my book about?

The book takes the reader through the entire lifespan of autistic females, from infancy to old age and everything in between, identifying typical characteristics, experiences and a literature review of hundreds of academic papers, all liberally peppered with the words of autistic women, and parents of autistic girls themselves. This 2nd edition is hugely extended and updated from the first, which was published in 2014, and was one of the first books to cover this topic so broadly.

For me, as an autistic woman myself, the words of my peers give an insight into our world as it really is, rather than from the outside. My book shares their stories alongside my own, allowing others like us to find their tribe and self-acceptance.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger Syndrome

Sarah Hendrickx Why did I love this book?

I loved this book when I first read it. It was ground-breaking at the time by presenting the autistic female world like no one else had done in this way before.

Rudi’s humour and relatable way of writing gave me an insight into what it meant to be an autistic woman. She paved the way for the rest of us writing in this way.

By Rudy Simone,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Aspergirls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*Gold Medal Winner in the Sexuality / Relationships Category of the 2011 IPPY Awards*

* Honorary Mention in the 2010 BOTYA Awards Women's Issues Category *

Girls with Asperger's Syndrome are less frequently diagnosed than boys, and even once symptoms have been recognised, help is often not readily available. The image of coping well presented by AS females of any age can often mask difficulties, deficits, challenges, and loneliness.

This is a must-have handbook written by an Aspergirl for Aspergirls, young and old. Rudy Simone guides you through every aspect of both personal and professional life, from early recollections of…


Book cover of Nobody Nowhere: The Remarkable Autobiography of an Autistic Girl

Sarah Hendrickx Why did I love this book?

An extraordinary book written by an extraordinary woman.

Donna’s autobiography shares her often difficult childhood story and her ‘discovery’ that she was autistic at a time when diagnosis for women was uncommon. Her tale is harrowing at times, yet inspiring and so fascinating to learn of her life. A real classic of a book written by an autistic woman.

By Donna Williams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Nobody Nowhere as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Donna Williams was a child with more labels than a jam-jar: deaf, wild disturbed, stupid insane... She lived within herself, her own world her foreground, ours a background she only visited. Isolated from her self and from the outside world, Donna was, in her words, a Nobody Nowhere. She swung violently between these two worlds, battling to join our world and, simultaneously, to keep it out. Abandoned from all connection to the self within her, she lived as a ghost with a body, a patchwork of the images which bombarded her. Intact but detached from the seemingly incomprehensible world around…


Book cover of The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy

Sarah Hendrickx Why did I love this book?

Steph has a way with words, that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.

Her survival guide to therapy takes us on a journey that I entirely identify with – trying to find therapy for all of our ‘problems’ from therapists who don’t really get it. I learned so much (and know now what to do) and enjoyed myself along the way.

By Steph Jones,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"This is the book that would've saved me nine different therapists, decades of self-analysis, thousands of pounds, twelve different doctors and untold amounts of pain, frustration and trauma - in spending a lifetime looking for the right answers in the wrong places I've become an accidental expert."

In this candid, witty and insightful exploration into therapy, Steph Jones uses her professional and lived experiences as a late diagnosed autistic woman and therapist, as well as consulting therapists from across the world and tapping into the autistic community, to create the ultimate autistic survival guide to therapy.

Steph confronts the statistics,…


Book cover of A Little Less Broken: How an Autism Diagnosis Finally Made Me Whole

Sarah Hendrickx Why did I love this book?

This was one of the most honest books I have ever read.

Marian shares her life story with utter candour, from her early life up until her autism diagnosis as an adult. Her anecdotes and tales or faux pas and other social screw-ups are so relatable and she made me want to give her a hug in pure solidarity. I feel your pain, Marian!

By Marian Schembari,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Little Less Broken as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Little Less Broken: How an Autism Diagnosis Finally Made Me Whole by Marian Schembari is a forthcoming title from Flatiron Books.


Book cover of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Sarah Hendrickx Why did I love this book?

I love this book (and the others in the series). Lisbeth Salander is most kick-ass autistic woman of all time (closely followed by Saga Noren from the TV series, The Bridge).

I found the storyline absolutely gripping, and awful at the same time. I was angered on Lisbeth’s behalf at the treatment she endures, and cheering at how she wins through in her uniquely autistic, logical way. An autistic hero if ever there was one. A truly great book that I re-read over again.

By Stieg Larsson,

Why should I read it?

24 authors picked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly-knit but dysfunctional family.

He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history.

But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and…


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The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower

By Robert F. Barsky,

Book cover of The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower

Robert F. Barsky Author Of Clamouring for Legal Protection: What the Great Books Teach Us about People Fleeing from Persecution

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Writer Professor of Humanities Borders Radicalist

Robert's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Noam Chomsky has been praised by the likes of Bono and Hugo Chávez and attacked by the likes of Tom Wolfe and Alan Dershowitz. Groundbreaking linguist and outspoken political dissenter—voted “most important public intellectual in the world today” in a 2005 magazine poll—Chomsky inspires fanatical devotion and fierce vituperation.

In The Chomsky Effect, Chomsky biographer Robert Barsky examines Chomsky's positions on a number of highly charged issues—including Vietnam, Israel, East Timor, and his work in linguistics—that illustrate not only “the Chomsky effect” but also “the Chomsky approach.”

Chomsky, writes Barsky, is an inspiration and a catalyst. Not just an analyst…

The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower

By Robert F. Barsky,

What is this book about?

"People are dangerous. If they're able to involve themselves in issues that matter, they may change the distribution of power, to the detriment of those who are rich and privileged."--Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky has been praised by the likes of Bono and Hugo Chávez and attacked by the likes of Tom Wolfe and Alan Dershowitz. Groundbreaking linguist and outspoken political dissenter--voted "most important public intellectual in the world today" in a 2005 magazine poll--Chomsky inspires fanatical devotion and fierce vituperation. In The Chomsky Effect, Chomsky biographer Robert Barsky examines Chomsky's positions on a number of highly charged issues--Chomsky's signature issues,…


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