137 [S10 E9] Meeting myself again: sensory needs, autistic joys and building stronger relationships after autism diagnosis

Marian Schembari is an author and essayist whose first byline was at age eleven. It was a poem about dragons. Since then, her essays about travel, friendship, money, and love have appeared in many well known publications, including The New York Times and Marie Claire. Marian was formally recognised as autistic at 34, and spent the next couple of years writing a memoir about it, A Little Less Broken, which came out last year. 

Marian grew up in an Italian/Puerto Rican family and has lived all over the world, including in New Zealand and Germany. She now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and daughter, where she now writes full time.

In this conversation Marian talks about the positive impact of her diagnosis on her relationships, and learning to express her needs; her experience of living abroad, being seen as the 'quirky, charming foreign friend'; and the contradictions of different facets of ourselves, and how our capacities and needs evolve and change over time.

Marian also shares her writing process and how writing a memoir prompted some honest conversations about past events and relationships.

She also gives a unique and beautiful answer to the 'go back in time to your former self' question, which might just be my favourite so far (if I’m allowed to have a favourite!).

Squarepeg is a podcast in which I talk to other late identified autistic women and nonbinary people about their lives, their autism journeys, and what they’ve learned along the way.

I’m Amy Richards, and I was diagnosed autistic in 2016, when I was 37. I’ve been sharing my conversations with other autistic adults since 2020.

I hope you'll find these conversations inspiring and thought provoking, and that they’ll help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

 

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