My Mid-Year Book Wrap-Up
Somehow, we are half-way through 2025 already, so it’s time for a mid-year book wrap-up! Books, as usual, have been a real comfort to me over the last six months, particularly whilst being unwell and my favourites have been a real…
Words of Hope
I have had a difficult couple of months due to being unwell. But, as usual, I’ve found comfort in words - be those from books (check out my Goodreads for my book reviews!), poetry or quotes…
Shortlisted for ITV’s Book bCreator of the Year
Hello, it’s been a while.
Thank you for the messages checking in on me. I do apologise for not responding. Unfortunately due to being unwell, I’ve had to pull out of several things including…
One Year of Girl Unmasked
It is the 28th March 2025 - one whole year since the publication of Girl Unmasked: How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life. One year ago today, at my book launch, I stood at the front of a room packed with almost everyone I loved and cried for a solid twenty minutes....
There is a Life After Rock Bottom
There is a life AFTER rock bottom. I wish I could have known that there was a life waiting for me away from feeling ‘stuck’ in the system. Away from assumptions. Away from ‘she has EUPD’ and ‘at risk of repeated admissions’ and away from…
The Publishing Process and How I Became a Sunday Times Bestseller
As we approach paperback launch week (which is NEXT week!), I feel a bit like I’m saying goodbye to the hardback era of Girl Unmasked. I know many people prefer paperbacks - they’re cheaper, lighter and have a different feel. I’ve always been a firm paperback lover too, but…
I Met My Younger Self for a Coffee
This is a beautiful trend inspired by Jennae Cecelia’s poem in her book ‘deep in my feels’.
I met my younger self for a coffee this morning…
School-Based Anxiety and Attendance
Sometimes it feels like the only thing that matters to politicians and education leaders is school attendance. And when they declare that the best place for children to be is in school, it makes me feel like my school experience doesn’t matter, and makes me feel angry for all the children…
Authentically Emily Update - Book Guide, Girl Unmasked Paperback, Giveaway and Talks
Hello and happy Monday!
This is a bit of a rambly post with a few updates rather than my usual blog post.
Autism and ADHD Book Guide
Managing a Trip to Thailand as an Autistic Person
I absolutely love seeing and exploring new places, but when my boyfriend suggested that we plan a trip to Thailand, I was initially hesitant. Being autistic means that some things can be more challenging, and I felt anxious about many things, like…
Things I’ve Learned in 2024
2024, a year of endless growth, authenticity and joy.
Somehow we have reached the end of 2024, despite it feeling like only last week that I wrote my ‘Reflections on 2023’ blog post. I couldn’t be more grateful for the past year: for the people in my life; the release of Girl Unmasked and…
My Year in Books
My reading hyper-fixation well and truly returned in 2024 and I’m not complaining. For much of my childhood, I read almost a book a day, but my love for books faded as a teenager. The fact it’s returned makes me so happy! AND…
A Letter To My ADHD Brain: ADHD Awareness Month
To my ADHD brain,
I love you and I hate you. You exist as a total contradiction. You are both what makes life feel worth living but also why I am drowning.
It is because of you that I feel so alive…
Girl Unmasked - Signed and Dedicated Limited Edition
A limited number of signed and dedicated copies of Girl Unmasked are now available to order exclusively from Coles Books!
Thank you to everyone who has asked for these. I am really excited to be able to dedicate these, sign them and get them into your...
You Are Allowed To Make Your Own Adjustments: How I Managed a Hen Do as an Autistic Person
It was my friend’s hen do recently and I was worried about how I would manage it. I struggle socialising in big groups, I don’t enjoy bars or clubs and there was lots of things that I felt anxious about, but I really wanted to go and celebrate my friend...
The Misdiagnosis of Autistic Distress in the Mental Health System
When I am asked why I wrote Girl Unmasked, I say that I was angry. Which is true. I was angry at finding myself sectioned on a psychiatric unit at the age of 16, at the doctor there telling me I just had high social anxiety not autism, at the fact they described my autistic meltdowns as ‘hysteric attacks when she doesn’t get her own way’…
The Good Within The Broken System
Amongst the brokenness of the system, the difficult experiences, and the trauma, there is also good. And sometimes the smallest things make the world of difference. What about…
The nurse on the CAMHS unit who sat in my room night after night talking to me about her rabbits because…
Graduating ADHD Coaching!
From August 4th 2023 to April 26th 2024…I have graduated ADHD Coaching! (if this is even a thing…i have made it a thing).
Nine months ago, I was struggling to come to terms with my fairly new ADHD diagnosis and had no sense of how to make life (which just felt constantly stressful) easier for my ADHD brain. Access to Work…
GIRL UNMASKED: Q&A
GIRL UNMASKED is officially out in the world (and somehow at number 12 on the Amazon bestseller chart!?). It is an incredibly surreal experience!
Last week I did a Q&A on my Instagram story, which I thought I would pop into a blog post.
Moving Through an OCD Blip: Reflections and Reminders
One of the things about living with OCD is that you never know when it is going to strike. I know that it hits most when I am stressed, tired or feeling low. I expected it when I lost my dog Coco in October, and moved through it. I was NOT expecting a new OCD theme to hit three and a bit weeks ago. I almost forget the pain of OCD until it returns…