But Everyone Feels This Way
How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life
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4.9 • 8 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Autism acceptance activist and TikTok influencer Paige Layle shares her deeply personal journey to diagnosis and living life autistically.
“For far too long, I was told I was just like everyone else. But knew it couldn’t be true. Living just seemed so much harder for me. This wasn’t okay. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t functioning. And it certainly wasn’t fine.”
Paige Layle was normal. She lived in the countryside with her mom, dad, and brother Graham. She went to school, hung out with friends, and all the while everything seemed so much harder than it needed to be. A break in routine threw off the whole day. If her teacher couldn't answer “why” in class, she dissolved into tears, unable to articulate her own confusion or explain her lack of control.
But Paige was normal. She smiled in photos, picked her feet up when her mom needed to vacuum instead of fleeing the room, and earned high grades. She had friends and loved to perform in local theater productions. It wasn’t until a psychiatrist said she wasn’t doing okay, that anyone believed her.
In But Everyone Feels This Way, Paige Layle shares her story as an autistic woman diagnosed late. Armed with the phrase “Autism Spectrum Disorder” (ASD), Paige challenges stigmas, taboos, and stereotypes while learning how to live her authentic, autistic life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
TikTokker Layle discusses life on the autism spectrum in her illuminating debut. As a child, Layle mimicked the behavior of others to get along socially, assuming that "everyone feels this way." Then, at 15, she was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. While the diagnosis helped Layle contextualize her feelings, she still struggled and went through several bouts of suicidal thinking. After discovering TikTok during the Covid-19 pandemic, Layle quickly gained followers by posting videos about her experiences with autism. Combining autobiography and advice, Layle, now in her 20s, provides detailed guidance for others on the spectrum, covering such subjects as boundary setting and managing "out-of-control" feelings. She has pointed words for neurotypical readers, too, about the difficulty of generalizing people with autism due to the spectrum's wide range of symptoms, and the underdiagnosis of women in particular. Empowering and educational, this should be required reading for anyone seeking to better understand themselves or a neurodivergent loved one.
