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.