Being This Human: One Young Woman’s Experience Living With Asperger’s Syndrome

Everyday life is like a cup of noodles for most people: satisfying even when unhealthy, providing convenient energy and readiness for what must come next. It can even serve as a pause from the usual bustling pace of things; however for the rest of the people, particularly for people with Asperger’s Syndrome, it often feels as though any sort of break from the frenzy of being is unreachable. A day presents itself to one such person more like an over-loaded burrito: exploding with irresistible flavor, falling apart right in one’s hands upon consumption and time consuming for all the details that need attending to as a result. Yes life, while still being a worthy meal, is for people with a unique neurological experience, so complex that it can be overwhelming and wonderful all at once. Trust me, I know, having lived with Asperger’s since my birth twenty-two years ago. And my autobiography, Being This Human, which I wrote following seventeen years of struggle, accomplishment and self-discovery, is my manual, memoir and testament to this beautifully perplexing Syndrome. Beginning with a detailed memory to place readers directly in my shoes, I then offer a personally-composed list of informal symptoms drawn from years of comparing myself with others and tell the story of how my life unfolded from childhood. It is my hope that when closing the back cover of my book readers will be left with some better understanding of what it is to be different and perhaps find some new ways to cope with being different, if only by utilizing a new perspective.