GIRl UNMASKED:
How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life
The Sunday Times Bestseller
To the outside world, Emily looks like a typical girl, with a normal family, living an ordinary life. But inside, Emily does not feel typical, and the older she gets, the more she realises that she is different.
As she finally discovers when she is 16, Emily is autistic. Girl Unmasked is the extraordinary story of how she got there – and how she very nearly didn’t.
Still only 21, Emily writes informatively and with great candour about the years leading up to her diagnosis. How books and imagination became her refuge as she sought to escape the increasing anxiety and unbearable stresses of school life; how her OCD almost destroyed her; how a system which did not understand autism let her down; and how she came so close to the edge that she and her family thought she would never survive.
In this simply told but piercingly insightful memoir, we see how family and friends became her lifeline and how, post-diagnosis, Emily sought to understand her authentic self and begin to turn her life around, eventually becoming a mental health nurse with a desire to help others where she herself had been failed.
Ultimately uplifting, Girl Unmasked is a simple but very special book that will provide recognition for many, and through providing an insight of what it can be like to be autistic, offers hope that by understanding and embracing difference, we can all be supported to thrive.
Endorsements of ‘Girl Unmasked’
“Emily’s moving book is a powerful testimony that shines a light on the continued failure of the health services to provide any kind of meaningful improvement for autistic people. Should be essential reading for mental health professionals and anyone with autism in their lives.”
— Fern Brady, comedian and author of ‘Strong Female Character’
“ …a welcome addition to the literature on Autistic masking and unmasking that I'm sure will bring so many readers self-recognition and comfort. For far too long, Autistic gender minorities, women, and other marginalized groups have had to hide our differences — by celebrating hers and baring her story, Emily helps empower a growing movement of unmasked Autistics to better accept themselves."
— Dr Devon Price, social psychologist and author of ‘Unmasking Autism’
“Emily has produced a magnificent read which manages to be informative, engaging, sad and uplifting all at the same time. Whether you're discovering that you're autistic yourself or you simply want to understand autistic people better, this is a must-read. Emily's story shows both the potential tragedy of being unrecognised as autistic in a world that's not designed for us and the revelation that understanding you're autistic can be, and she has been brave enough to talk about her experiences to help others. We're so proud to be able to say she's our Trustee."
— Cathy Wassell, CEO Autistic Girls Network charity & author of ‘Nurturing Your Autistic Young Person’
“Vulnerable, affecting and deeply personal, this book will go from a message in a bottle to a rallying cry for many autistic women, girls and young people. We are not alone. We have never been alone. A beautiful testament from one of our most amazing young advocates.”
— Elle McNicoll, bestselling author and winner of Overall Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2021.
"A brilliant, thorough exploration of autistic experience, delivered with humanity, compassion and vivid clarity.”
— Pete Wharmby, author of ‘Untypical’
“Girl Umasked is such a beautiful and important book. Emily perfectly weaves vignettes from her own life with autism education in a way that’s both relatable and comforting for autistic readers and vitally communicative for non-autistic readers trying to better understand the autistic experience.
This book will make countless autistic readers feel less alone and help family members, friends and educators better connect with and support the people in their lives. It’s also a message of hope, with everything that Emily has survived to be able to tell this story with so much eloquence and heart. I know it will be a hand in the dark to so many and it’s the book I wish I’d been able to read when I was younger.”
