Letters To My Weird Sisters

On Autism and Feminism

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Pub Date 1 Aug 2022 | Archive Date 24 Jun 2021

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Description

An autistic feminist author looks at women's history, in search of her 'weird sisters'.

It seemed to me that many of the moments when my autism had caused problems, or at least marked me out as different, were those moments when I had come up against some unspoken law about how a girl or a woman should be, and failed to meet it.

An autism diagnosis in midlife enabled Joanne Limburg to finally make sense of why her emotional expression, social discomfort and presentation had always marked her as an outsider.

Eager to discover other women who had been misunderstood in their time, she writes a series of wide-ranging letters to four 'weird sisters' from history, addressing topics including autistic parenting, social isolation, feminism, the movement for disability rights and the appalling punishments that have been meted out over centuries to those deemed to fall short of the norm.

This heartfelt, deeply compassionate and wholly original work humanizes women who have so often been dismissed for their differences, and will be celebrated by 'weird sisters' everywhere.
An autistic feminist author looks at women's history, in search of her 'weird sisters'.

It seemed to me that many of the moments when my autism had caused problems, or at least marked me...

Advance Praise

'Astute, humane and breathtakingly true, Letters to my Weird Sisters captures the intricate truth of life on the outside. Joanne Limburg's project to find mirrors of herself across history casts so much light. I adored it.' Katherine May, author of Wintering

'A powerful and deeply personal tribute to the 'weird' sisterhood. Limburg seamlessly weaves her own experiences as a 'misfit' into the stories of women from history who today might be regarded as autistic. Her bold, unique exploration of autism reflects centuries of prejudice and more recent and shameful care scandals involving autistic people. Limburg forces the reader to reconsider who's really weird; those whom society perceives as defective, or a society that constrains, alienates and dehumanises people just because they don't conform to its norms?' Saba Salman, author of Made Possible

'Astute, humane and breathtakingly true, Letters to my Weird Sisters captures the intricate truth of life on the outside. Joanne Limburg's project to find mirrors of herself across history casts so...


Available Editions

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ISBN 9781838950057
PRICE US$24.95 (USD)

Average rating from 6 members


Featured Reviews

In this book, Joanne Limburg writes to four women in history who she calls her 'weird sisters'- women who, for a variety of reasons, were outcasted and judged- and often penalised- for their 'weird' behaviour.

Whether they were women who went against the grain, or women whose identities and behaviours clashed with wider society (Jews and people with mental illness during the time of the Nazis, women behaving 'erratically' during a time of witch purges), Limburg's letters to these women feel like both an apology for how they were treated, and an attempt to find commonality with them. As part of this, Limburg weaves in her own stories and experiences, and, in doing so, makes an often beautiful and heartbreaking plea for understanding and action.

The book has a lot of moments that are not easy to stomach, but are well worth reading. For example, her descriptions of the fear, anxiety and terror she felt during and after pregnancy were harrowing, especially as she detailed how she was worried she would cause her children harm. The way Limburg then turns these moments into a chance for connection with the woman her letter is addressed to, and into something poignant about the changes needed in society to support people going through similar issues around childbirth, is genuinely powerful on several occasions.

It is an interesting book, shedding light in ways that I don't think many books have before.

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