Strong Female Character
Fern Brady
'This is a book about how being a woman gets in the way of people's expectation of what autism should look like and, equally, how being autistic gets in the way of people's expectations of what a woman should look like. 'Strong Female Character is a game-changing memoir on sexism and neurodiversity. Fern Brady will use her voice as a neurodivergent, working-class woman from Scotland to bring issues such as sex work, abusive relationships and her time spent in teenage mental health units to the page. more
288 pages, Hardcover
First published Brazen
4.53
Rating
16492
Ratings
1913
Reviews
Fern Brady
1 books 274 followers
Community reviews
If you are going to read it, absolutely get the audiobook. more
loved so so much about this, didn't love the internalised fatphobia (that fern clearly hasn't worked through yet) as much: there were quite a few derogatory descriptions of people's weights and looks in general that she then didn't properly reflect on (and that I guess were supposed to be funny. ). this is basically my only reason for knocking one star off because it really bothered me after a while. apart from that it truly is a fantastic memoir. more
4. 5* (rounded up). An absolutely fantastic memoir - the experiences of autistic women are much needed, and as an autistic woman myself, I found Fern Brady's experiences to be incredibly relatable and refreshing. This is a memoir I will hold close to my heart for a long time to come-. more
Reflections and lessons learned:“The public perception of autistics is so heavily based on the stereotype of men who love trains or science that many women miss out on diagnosis and thought of as studious instead…”I only knew a bit about Fern Brady, and had bits of that altered whilst watching Taskmaster (singing: mefernbrady, mefernbrady. ), but this was much more personal and to be honest, harrowing than I expected it to be. I feel that I learned a lot from this on multiple different areas - some which I needed to learn more about (identifiable first hand experience characteristics of being neurodivergent, Protestant upbringing) and some that are brutal and I’d rather have avoided, but are still parts of life that some experience. Brave in an unexpected way without seemingly looking for anything from the audience apart from understanding . more
This book pulls no punches. Fern Brady's childhood and early adulthood as an undiagnosed autistic woman reads like a hurricane of trauma. She makes it clear that she's not out of the storm, having to unpack years of masking and battle societal pressures to be neurotypical, but the fact that she's written this book is so important. I think it achieves her intention of bringing awareness to a disability that is still not properly understood, especially when it manifests in women and girls – and it achieves it without sugarcoating or shying away from traumatic or devastating experiences. It's her matter-of-fact way of writing and observing the world that shows how difficult and frustrating it is to be in a society that never says what it means, or means what it says. more
I’m not sure I was supposed to be laughing most of the way through this book but she is funny, even when writing about serious things. It did get deep/dark though and I didn’t laugh the whole way through but I did smile a lot and she does tell her story in an entertaining way and most often in an amusing manner. “I’m aware that this process was called the Liverpool Care Pathway by the NHS but for reasons outlined elsewhere in the book, I don’t do well with obfuscating language. I think if we called it ‘starving and dehydrating someone to death’ a lot more of us would become pro-euthanasia overnight. ”“I realized that those people who say money isn’t everything are liars. more
The system fails autistic women every single day. It always goes like ‘we should all be inclusive’ or ‘it is so okay that you are autistic’, but then condeming the specific behaviors that are autistic traits. This kind of hypocricy leaves autistic individuals in constant danger and suffering, in constant need of hiding behind a mask. Everyone who thinks autism has a look and mostly thinks of Sheldon Copper when being told ‘I’m autistic’, this book is for you. It is also for the entire world because Fern is brilliant at explaining autism in late-diagnosed women with perfect terminology and letting her story speak for itself. more
I'm usually wary of books written by anyone with a degree of fame, because they're so often about how great all the famous people they know are, and how exciting it is to be on TV. But Fern Brady's book is nothing like that: it is a furious, intelligent and gripping description of growing up as an undiagnosed autistic in working-class Scotland. She barely touched on her work as a comedian. Brady always felt that people didn't like her, including her own family. Things that seemed normal or intuitive to others were completely alien to her, and she was constantly distressed. more
Without doubt the best memoir I've listened to this year. Whether you're autistic, or you're not, I guarantee that Fern will entertain, astonish and educate you. You'll laugh, you'll cringe, you'll feel desperately sorry for her, and you'll applaud her bravery. One hell of a listen. Buy it now. more
Part of autistic survival is learning to unpick social dynamics. I liked that in a strip club men’s contempt of you was out in the open. In the outside world, misogyny was always hovering in your peripheral vision, meaning you could never quite trust your instincts. In a strip club, groups of men are in a safe space where they’re encouraged to play up to hypermasculine ideas—and because they believe no one in power is watching them they project all their shame and irregular feelings about women onto the strippers, who they believe exist in a vacuum and won’t ever speak out about their behavior or, say, write about it in a tell-all memoir. (180-181) International comedian sensation Fern Brady (who I’d never heard of until actor Bob Odenkirk recommended this memoir on Twitter) has written an educative memoir about learning in adulthood that she is autistic. more
Honest, searingly personal, and I've just never understood autism as well as I do after reading these pages. What a brave and wonderful book to put out in the world. . more
I wish I’d left my worldview of Fern Brady as it was instead of reading this book. None of her story threw me. She went through some truly complicated shit while dealing with undiagnosed autism, something that our world does not yet understand (and worse, isn’t exactly trying to get more information about) and I feel so much for her. It’s amazing the situation she climbed her way out of and I commend her for being where she is today. But this book suggests that she’s a mean spirited person. more
Bit (a lot) fatphobic and demeaning towards people Fern deems to be stupid . more
My first experience reading an auto biography by an autistic woman. Never felt so seen. My fave book of the year and it's only march. more
I don't know what to say that won't make me feel really overly vulnerable. this book made me feel less broken and generally just a bit more accepting of myself and my reality. Lol. more
You might know Fern Brady as a comedian—I know of her from the show Taskmaster, where contestants complete ridiculous tasks and then have a good laugh about them. But Strong Female Character isn't about comedy; it's about Brady's experience growing up while viewing the world through undiagnosed autism. It has to be said: celebrity memoirs are almost always at their best when the writer is writing about something other than their work (think Jennette McCurdy, Evanna Lynch, Allison Moorer). But it also has to be said: Brady is funny from start to finish here, despite the often wildly stressful material of the book. She pulls no punches, delivering an incisive criticism of the way society treats those who are "different", and of the limited view of autism held by many medical professionals. more
Related to much in terms of upbringing as an undiagnosed autistic girl and the violence and abuse we often experience. I liked reading it but also hated reading it. I have it two stars but it might also be 4 stars. Truth is: I don’t know how to feel. Felt very close to home and also very alien. more
Fern Brady tells the story of her life so far and her struggle of getting diagnosed with autism and learning how to live with it. This book is very funny which is extraordinary given how heartbreaking it is. I particularly enjoyed reading about Fern's childhood and family, this was heartbreaking too but again, very, very funny. This part of the book was a 5 star read for me. The second half, which covers Fern's experiences as a teen and as young adult are still told with humour but also seemed quite depressing. more
I first became aware of Fern Brady when she was on Taskmaster, and though I did not find her entertaining on the show, I was hopeful with this book to learn more about her. Unfortunately, I found this book to be much like her comedy on the show -- I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Like many other reviewers have stated, the writing really lacks structure, but perhaps this was done to show how she processes and conveys information in general. She does talk in this book as if she is some authority on autism because of her diagnosis, making generalizations about autism as if they are fact because she exhibits the behavior. Speaking of behavior, it does appear as though she at times treats people poorly under the guise of her diagnosis. more
DNF 71% Didn’t enjoy the writing nor found it particularly funny. She includes second-hand anecdotes purely for shock value, like the one about the guy with Down’s syndrome at the strip club. Also, the way she describes people’s appearance and makes generalisations about autism grated on me. Not a 1-star, because I think the author is being her genuine mean-spirited self, with no apologies left or right, so hats off to that. I’m just not obliged to like it. more
i already knew that autism in girls and women often go undiagnosed and untreated because of this intersection between ableism and misogyny, but this memoir opened my eyes up to a whole new world of things i didn’t know about being autistic as a woman. the tireless efforts to mask her autistic traits in order to seem palatable to society, the patronising gp’s telling her she doesn’t have autism because she has a boyfriend, just the overall lack of support for autistic women in society has gone undiscussed for far too long. though this was incredibly insightful to read as an allistic person, i found the underlying fatphobia a little unnerving, and so i’ve dropped a star for that, but overall such an unflinchingly honest and witty book. more
You know when someone’s like “they didn’t hold back. ” and then you read and you just have a million more questions. This is not that book. Without reading other reviews I’m gonna guess there’s a lot of “unflinching” and “warts and all”. I loved this book; Fern is very straight up about what shit she went through before during and after receiving a late in life autism diagnosis. more
I am so glad I listened to this in the audio format. Fern reading it made it sound so raw and real. It made it very easy for me to sympathise with her. Not only was Fern brutally honest about her personal experiences but she also shared a lot of facts about autistic women and non-binary folk. I hope more awareness will be spread around autism and neurotypical people will understand it a bit better. more
*insert Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at himself gif*. more
This memoir is funny, moving, authentic, and needed. Fern Brady is a beautiful, intelligent, witty, and brave soul, a really remarkable and talented person. Her book is an important and powerful gift to the community of people with autism and people who are neurodiverse, especially those identifying as girls/women and/or as LGBTQIA+, and to their family members, service providers, and allies. Never have I read such a compelling and accurate account of the challenges of living as a long-undiagnosed autistic girl, teen, and young woman and coping with enduring adverse impacts of erasure, disenfranchisement, public misunderstanding (and ignorance), blame, and shame. Despite these struggles, Brady triumphs in her creatively detailed and compellingly honest storytelling and is able to offer hope for herself and others by the end. more
I always find it a bit weird to give someone's life story a star-rating, so I won't be doing that BUT I need it known that Fern's memoir is the type of book that some how makes you feel less alone in this mad world. She is unapologetically honest, her writing educates, entertains and evokes many emotions. From start to finish it was just so damn readable - I'll be telling anyone who listens to read it. more
Recommended by KellyHookReadsBooks on IG. Thank you PRH for the gifted alc. This is a quick listen at 7 hours and narrated by the author. Brady breaks down the stereotypes surrounding neurodiversity. A witty and honest account of undiagnosed autism until adulthood. more
Very interesting memoir by an autistic woman. She doesn't hold back and therefore enables the reader to feel a little bit of what she feels. more
Scottish comedian Fern's memoir came out a couple days ago. I listened to her narrate the audio version and I'm glad I did. It's really, really good and I learned quite a bit about autism. I didn't know much and found this to be a great intro into a better understanding. Strong Female Character is mostly about her diagnosis, which came quite late in life after a hell of a struggle, but fans of her stand up, the podcast "Wheel of Misfortune," et cetera will love hearing her hilarious/horrifying stories in much fuller detail. more
if i’d known this is an autobiographic book i wouldn’t have read it. i don’t usually like those. as it turns out, i don’t really like fern brady either. this book did have a lot of important things to say about being a neurodivergent woman, though. there was just sooo much self-hatred. more