Author Talk: Clem Bastow, and Late Bloomer (2021)

Yesterday, a friend and I went to hear  Melbourne-based writer and researcher, Clem Bastow talk with Claire Halliday about her book, Late Bloomer, How an Autism Diagnosis Changed My Life.  This was an event for World Autism Awareness Day at the Brighton Branch of Bayside Library.

This is the blurb for the book, from Clem Bastow’s website:

Late Bloomer is a heartfelt coming-of-age memoir that will change the way you think about autism. 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…