Late Bloomer

How an autism diagnosis changed my life

By: Clem Bastow

Narrated by: Clem Bastow

Clem Bastow grew up feeling like she’d missed a key memo on human behaviour. She found the unspoken rules of social engagement confusing, arbitrary and often stressful. Friendships were hard, relationships harder and the office was a fluorescent-lit nightmare of anxiety. It wasn’t until Clem was diagnosed as autistic, at age 36, that things clicked into focus. The obsession with sparkly things and dinosaurs. The encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music. The meltdowns that would come on like a hurricane. The ability to write eloquently while conquering basic maths was like trying to understand ancient Greek. These weren’t just ‘personality quirks’ but autistic traits that shaped Clem’s life in powerful ways.

With wit and warmth, Clem reflects as an autistic adult on her formative experiences as an undiagnosed young person, from the asphalt playground of St Joseph's Primary School in Melbourne to working as an entertainment journalist in Hollywood. Along the way she challenges the broader cultural implications and ideas around autism, especially for women and gender-diverse people.

©2021 Clem Bastow. First published by Hardie Grant Publishing Pty Ltd. (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing

The book I needed to read

As a late diagnosed autistic woman myself, this book felt so relatable to me that I felt like I could have written it. Clem Bastow’s narration was lovely and I felt I could truly understand her points based on her inflection. I felt seen and understood by this book, in ways I’ve never felt living in the NT world. In typical ND form, I’ll be listening to this book over and over again.

Everyone should read/listen to this. Everyone.

Drop everything Venkman, we've got one.

Funny, informative, relatable, so beautifully written. Thank you Clem Bastow for sharing this wonderfully honest story with the world.

The narration was perfect.

It felt like the book was over far too quickly, so I will definitely be listening to this again.