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?