I didn't really know who Fern Brady was a couple of weeks ago. Since then I've listened to her on about 10 podcasts, watched most of her Taskmaster series, and absolutely devoured her book.
Strong Female Character is Brady's memoir. Fern reflects on her life - coming from a working class Scottish family, going to university while making money stripping (this actually takes up v. little of the book, although it seems to take up a lot of the coverage on it), nearly becoming a journalist and finally becoming a comedian.
Strong Female Character is a funny, honest and completely compelling memoir of Fern's life. I read it in a day, something I don't remember doing since I was a teenager.
The book is also an account of being an autistic woman. Brady described the book as using a tabloid approach to teaching people about autism. It grabs you in with the 'headline' - Fern's chaotic life, and then, while you're there, teaches you something about autism. It's a method that clearly worked on me because I haven't stopped talking about it since I read it.
Brady's undiagnosed autism has massively impeded her life. Or, more accurately, having to navigate a neuro-typical world while being autism has.
Strong Female Character is excellent and now I'll go back to seeking out any of Brady's other work.