In this first-of-its-kind book, Sol Smith combines current research, his personal experience as an autistic adult, and lessons learned as an educator to show how others living with the condition can transcend common mischaracterizations, embrace self-acceptance, overcome shame, and gain the skills to function and flourish.

When writer and professor Sol Smith was diagnosed with autism as an adult, a lifetime of “noisy brain” and rumination, of intuiting that he experienced the world differently from others, suddenly made sense. Rather than feeling shame and continuing to hide his neuro-differences, he used his experience as an educator to create ways to articulate and explore these differences and, in the process, develop life skills to better communicate and work with neurotypical people.

Designed to help readers peel away the shell of anxiety and shame that has calcified around their lives, Smith offers a better understanding of what it means to be neurodivergent and how to function effectively in relationships at home, at work, and in the wider world.