Author Q&A: 'The Autist's Guide to the Galaxy' by Clara Törnvall

I wanted to write a book I wish I could’ve read as a young adult.

I spent so many years feeling like there was something fundamentally wrong with me, and when I was diagnosed with autism, it was a huge relief because I realized that I wasn’t a failed human being; I was a completely ordinary autistic person.

The title paraphrases Douglas Adams’ classic novel because, in his book, the meaning of life is 42, and I was diagnosed at age 42. I wanted to write an eye-opener that lets a neurotypical reader experience the feeling of being described as deviant and also a fun book from the autist’s perspective. A book in which being autistic is the norm, because I felt like that was missing.

The book is mainly about miscommunication.

It came about in collaboration with many autistic people that I interviewed about their weirdest encounters with majority neurotypical society. The misunderstandings and conflicts that can occur between autistics and non-autistics are often funny.

When one interprets communication literally and the other “reads between the lines,” it’s bound to go wrong. But the book also has a serious purpose. The title shows the autist as the outsider, studying neurotypical society. But it also allows the autist to be the main character of the story – and the judge of “the galaxy”/neurotypical society.

And that is important because it changes the perspective of "right" and "wrong." In my book, autistic people are “we” and neurotypicals are “them.” The effect is not only funny; it’s absurd. The reversed perspective shows us that the way society describes autistic people is also absurd: filled with generalisations, stereotypes, and prejudice.

Yes, absolutely. I wanted it to be accessible to all sorts of readers. The examples in the book are mostly from a young perspective; I imagined a reader in their twenties, but the autistic people that I interviewed were of all ages, both young and old. And the book has found readers of all ages.

After my first book The Autists: Women on the Spectrum was published, I came in contact with so many autistic people who told me their life stories. And I learned that the autistic community is filled with strength, wisdom, and a great sense of humor. Yet autistics are often portrayed as victims in the media or in books on autism written by neurotypicals. I wanted to change that. Being autistic is not a tragedy; it's just different.

I call myself an autist, and I prefer the term "autistic" over "has autism." Because, to me, being autistic is an important, fundamental part of my identity that you can't separate from who I am as a person.

Autism is also not a disease, which the term "has autism" implies. But at the same time, I would never judge another autistic person for having a different view on their preferred language.

To me, language is important, but I will always prefer a curious "clumsy" question from someone using the "wrong" terminology over people being too afraid to ask because they don't know which words they are "allowed" to use.

My dream would be for the book to boost confidence in autistic people. Hopefully, readers will relate, laugh, question their views on “normality,” and - if they’re neurotypical - stop doing things like “reading between the lines” when they meet autistic people. A couple of neurotypical readers have found the book provoking and reacted like: “That’s prejudice, we are not all like that!”

Well, that was exactly the point of the book… to let you walk a mile in our shoes. Welcome to the world of being part of a minority! But my aim is absolutely not to polarize; it’s the exact opposite. I want us all to understand each other better.

Society needs neurological diversity, and we have to stop viewing the neurotypical way as the “right” way.

Let’s benefit from each other's differences instead.