The Loneliest Girl in the Universe & Q&A with Lauren

Title: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

Author: Lauren James

Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Young Adult

Published: September 2017

Summary

Alone in space, Romy Silvers is a teenage girl on an important mission to find the next home for humanity. The only contact she has with the outside world is with the NASA therapist Molly until they send out a new spaceship with another single passenger called J. They start to chat via email and a bond starts to form. Romy quickly falls for J but is there something that he isn't tell her? Also will the upcoming news from Earth ruin their space mission altogether?

I have only ever finished a book in one sitting once before which was Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and I can now add The Loneliest Girl in the Universe to that list! As well as that, this was one the same day that I received the book in the post so if that isn't dedication then I don't know what is.

8 Things I Love About Being An Autistic Woman

I don't know about about the rest of the autistic community but if I am completely honest - I am fed up.

I am sick up of our voices constantly being ignored when it comes to conversations about autism. Why do parents of autistic people, teachers and other trained professionals always think they know better than us about our own disability? It's exhausting having to repeatedly say how each autistic person is unique and how we all have different needs amongst other things. It also doesn't help that the media can portray us in such stereotypical and occasionally negative ways.

We are not burdens.
We do not need to be fixed.
We just want to be accepted and understood.

We are in need of some positivity and the best way I can do that right now is to share what I personally love about being autistic because the list is endless and most of all; I want others to truly see how brilliant it can be!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine | Book Review

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Author: Gail Honeyman

Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Mystery

Published: May 2017

I unexpectedly won a copy of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine back in May in a Goodreads competition - what a jammy sod. Yet it's taken me this long to pick it up off my TBR pile as I have been going through a bit of a reading slump lately. This is the first book I finished since getting my mojo back.

Summary

Eleanor is a 30 year old finance clerk who spends her working days doing the same routine and her weekends alone in her flat drinking vodka and sleeping. She may not have any friends but don't worry - she's fine with it. All it takes is for her and work colleague Raymond to witness an old man collapse in the street for her life to turn her upside down. Will these big life changes be good for Eleanor, or simply push her over the edge?

Trigger warning: this book deals with physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault, self harm and alcoholism.

Inspirational Blog Posts You Should Read ASAP

As I'm typing this, it's Friday morning and I'm on the train to work desperately wanting to get one of many blog post ideas written out - it's called having a work/life balance apparently.

Ali Caitrin has had to take a step back lately while I've been getting to grips with big but positive changes in my personal life. Yet the blogosphere still keeps on rolling and great content is being created all the time.

Having this realisation (or what I like to call a light bulb moment) made me want to share five the posts that I've gained some important lessons from reading recently. After all, sharing is caring right?

Finding My Authentic Blog Voice & Why It's Changed

There's no doubt that blogging is a competitive industry - we are constantly watching it evolve along with the community expanding every day. Yet amongst the 100s of topics that get written about there's one thing that make each of us unique: our voice.

For me personally, I want my posts to show more than just words and pictures on a screen. I don't need my writing to be the best, I just want anyone who reads my blog to see my personality shine through from the very start and for me to be happy with what I've published.

Trust me when I say it wasn't easy to get here.

Autism From A Sibling's Perspective

I have said many times on this blog that if you want to learn more about autism you should talk to an autistic person and ask them questions which is one thing I will always stand by as our voices are very important. However this doesn't mean that gaining an insight into the disability through other people's eyes isn't needed - the more people talk about autistic people and their needs the better!

Because of this, I went to Twitter to ask if anyone who has an autistic sibling would be willing to share their experience so when Katie offered to help I was so relieved! I've followed Katie and her wonderful blog for a while now so I knew you would be in good hands with her.

A big thank you to Katie for taking the time to write this honest and insightful post about her brother Ryan and I hope you enjoy the read as much as I did!

Hey guys! I’m Katie from Katie Middleton and I blog about beauty and lifestyle. However, when I saw that Ali was looking for people to write about ASD or siblings with ASD, I couldn’t say no. Autism is very close to my heart as my brother has Autism. So I’m just going to give you a little insight on what it my experience was like growing up with a sibling who has autism. Everyone’s experiences are different so I am not saying that everyone will be the same as me or my family but this is what it was like for us! I hope this helps someone in some way – even if it’s not you personally but you know people going through a similar situation.

5 Reasons Why Spring is the Best Season

If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be picking Spring over Summer I know for a fact I wouldn't have believed you. I used to constantly rave about Summer and couldn't wait for it to arrive but now I have officially converted to the season of hope and new beginnings!

Of course every season has its own perks and each bring something unique when they're around - there's no doubt about that. However I think we all have a preference and for me Spring is the best out of them all.

Speaking of the best, here are my top 5 reasons for loving Spring and why I'm going to be making the most of it while it lasts.

Why Autism Representation Matters in Literature

Representation and diversity are two words on everyone's lips in the book world. As a book blogger, writer and general book world lurker, I see these conversations go back and forth in the news, in events, on twitter. When will we see representations of X in literature? Can we do better than this singular example of X? These are incredibly important questions, particularly in the world of autism.

I'm one of the "Lost Generation". I got diagnosed as autistic at twenty eight, only six months ago. It's a strange thing discovering that you've been living your life not knowing a really quite fundamental thing about yourself. I had always felt like everyone else had an insight into the workings of society that I lacked, but I chalked that up to just being a bit weird, awkward, somewhat uncomfortable in my own skin.

Skip forward to my mid twenties, when a friend of mine got diagnosed after meeting another autistic woman. After reading into experiences of people raised-as-women, I realised I was autistic (I've written about this on the blog this week here). Recognising myself in other people was key to my diagnostic journey.

Receiving A Late Autism Diagnosis | Rebekah's Story

The average age that someone in the UK will receive an autism diagnosis at is just five years old, yet so many people are left waiting for answers for much longer. I finally received my diagnosis when I was seventeen, in September of 2015, and have since heard many stories of people in the same boat, having received a diagnosis far past the stage where it would be considered late.

I think a lot of people regard late autism diagnosis’ as a rare thing; something that you hear about occasionally, but that doesn’t happen to most people. There has been very little research into statistics with late diagnosis’, but from the interactions I have had with other autistic people since my own diagnosis, I can say for sure that this occurs more often than people think it does.

I would even go as far as to say that I am lucky in receiving my diagnosis when I did. Although I went through seventeen years before my diagnosis, and questions about myself that nobody could answer, I’ve heard stories from people who have had to wait much longer. Some people are waiting far into adulthood before they receive their diagnosis. Some people don’t even realise it’s a possibility until their own children are going through the diagnostic process themselves.

Answering Your Questions On Being Autisitic

To gain a better understanding of what it's like to be autistic, in most cases you're better off talking to those who are autistic themselves. You would think this is obvious but when you look up autism online the majority is either from a parent's perspective or from a medical point of view.

So where are all the pages written by autistic people?

Well they're definitely around *raises hand* but unfortunately our opinions seem to be at the back of the line when it's our voices that need to be listened to! Which is why I went to Twitter to ask what you wanted to know about autism from an autistic person and I'm here to answer them and share my experience.

Sometimes I Lie | Review & Author Q&A

Title: Sometimes I Lie

Author: Alice Feeney

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Published: March 2017

Summary:

Amber suddenly realises that she's stuck in a coma she can't wake up from. It doesn't matter how hard she tries to remember how she got there or how much she tries to shout for help - nothing works. She can vaguely hear the nurse's voices in the hospital along with her husband Paul and sister Claire but will she like what she hears? Most importantly, will she ever wake up?

Awesome Books By Women to Add to Your TBR

It's no secret that I am quite the bookworm and one of the reasons why I love reading so much is because I get to discover more inspiring people and learn about their life experiences that may be different to my own.

International Women's Day wasn't that long ago and it reminded me that as great and powerful as the campaign is, it's something that we should be pushing for all the time not just for one day of the year. In the spirit of this revelation, I want to share seven books that I believe embody the spirit of celebrating women's achievements whilst acknowledging the biases we are still having to face today.

Plus who doesn't love getting some book recommendations?

4 Reasons Why I Hate The Term Friend Zone

Have you been annoyed by something that happened a while back yet to this day it still makes your blood boil? Well that's basically the reason behind me writing this post.

I have lost count of the amount of times I was told I was "friend-zoning" someone but if you're one of the lucky ones who have never heard of this term before then I'll leave the definition of it below:

"A SITUATION IN WHICH A FRIENDSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE, ONE OF WHOM HAS SEXUAL INTEREST IN THEM WHILE THE OTHER PERSON DOESN'T AND WANTS TO STAY AS FRIENDS."

Now please don't get this confused with someone who has genuine feelings and is disappointed because that's a completely normal way to feel. No, this term solely applies when said person only pretends to be friends with another person to get something out of it in the long run i.e. sex.

If you're someone who doesn't think this is problematic then my four reasons for hating it might make you want to have a rethink.

6 Upcoming Films to Watch This Year

Despite some of the obstacles we're already having to face this year, we've managed to make it through the first two months of 2017 and that's an achievement on its own. One way I like to escape from reality, and all the chaos going on, is to put on a good film and raid my sweet cupboard. This year I'm going to take it up a notch by going to the cinema more often and with there being so many new releases to choose from, I don't think I'm going to find it very difficult to find something interesting to watch.

Here are just a few awesome films we've got coming up over the next six months that you may want to add to your watch list!

The Honest Italian, Balham

It's rare for me to go out for dinner on a weekday but last Wednesday was the first time in a while that I made an exception as I was invited to visit The Honest Italian* and try out their menu. I'm always on the lookout for new places to go in London so how could I say no? I even managed to turn it into a dinner date and bring my boyfriend with me because I'm nice like that *insert smug face emoji* so we decided to meet after work and head to the restaurant together.

Living with Marfan Syndrome | Shona's Story

If I said the words 'Marfan Syndrome' to you I imagine you would probably tilt your head in confusion and wonder to what I just said, for me though those words are a huge part of my everyday life. I've grown up with Marfan which also means that I've grown up dealing with confused doctors who haven't heard of my condition or random members of the public who want to know why I use a wheelchair/powerchair. You get used to things like that when you have a long term condition or disability but it doesn't mean that it gets easier when you see a doctor and they have no idea how to help you.

At this point you're probably wondering what Marfan Syndrome is and why I'm telling you about it! Quite simply it is a rare genetic connective tissue disorder and February is the awareness month for it, hence why I'm here telling you all about it! Awareness months are so important, especially for rare conditions, as you get the opportunity to spread the word and educate people, including medical professionals. Ever since Marfan caused my health decline in my teens I've dedicated as much time as possible to raising awareness, whether that be through my blog or volunteer charity work.

Goodbye 2016 & Hello 2017

I didn't find it very difficult to say goodbye to 2016 and I know I wouldn't have been the only one feeling this way because let's be honest, it was a pretty rough year! I won't dwell on the negatives as I would much rather look back on the things that made me happy, what I've achieved and be grateful about the fact that 2016 wasn't all bad.. So let's get started!

It's Time For A Catch Up

Have you missed me? And yes it really has been a long time since I posted on here or done anything blogging related. Honestly we would be here all day if I went into every little detail about why this has come to happen so I've decided not to do that this time.

• I'm not going to apologise.
• I'm not going to call myself a terrible blogger.
• I'm not going to wallow in self-pity and quit blogging for good.

So instead of doing any of that nonsense, I'll finish my cup of tea before it gets cold *tick* and let you in on what I've been up to while I've been away. Thank god October was an interesting month for me otherwise I would have nothing to write about for this post haha!

My Lush Skincare Collection

It's been way too long since I spoke about Lush which means it's probably about time I updated you on the products I've been using - specifically skincare. I rave about their bath bombs and bubble bars a lot (as you do, they are pretty amazing after all) which won't be changing any time soon but I do feel like their skincare gets overlooked which is why I'm going to shine a light on the four products my face has been loving!

Thoughts I Have While Tidying Up

Afters weeks of trying to avoid the massive pit I call my bedroom I finally decided it was time to do a massive clean out and although I'm glad it's over and done with, it was not an easy task. It takes me about an hour just to get myself motivated to tidy and even then I end up getting distract in some way i.e. lay in bed and scroll through social media. A lot of thoughts were going through my mind while I was slowly making progress round my room and I've listed a few of them below for your amusement!