The Unmasking
Creating a gentler place for me to be (a story of autism).
Author’s note: This is a hard post for me to share. It’s incredibly personal and vulnerable in a different way than my usual raw essays, and it also differs from my typical writing style in that it’s more dense with information. I’m sharing it in the hopes that it speaks to some of you who may feel similarly, and that others of you may learn something new that helps you to care for the rest of us a little more gently. I welcome your thoughtful and kind comments and questions, and while this is a paid post if you’d like to read it in full or share it with a friend and money is an issue, please just ask.
In this new life here in Portland I have been better at telling people about my neurodivergence. I don’t have the words yet, which, as a writer (and also a human), is so frustrating, but I try.