Humour author Tom Cutler was 55 when he discovered he had Asperger's and the realisation helped to serve as the key which unlocked some of the answers to some of his life's biggest riddles.
Keep Clear: My Adventures with Asperger's recounts the "crack-up" that led to Tom's life-altering discovery and tells how it helped make sense of a number of previously inexplicable traits which came before.
For example, there were his weird obsessions with road sign design, magic tricks, spinning tops and Sherlock Holmes.
Then there were the social impediments - the accidental rudeness, the maladroitness and the Pan Am smile.
The book explores Tom's eccentric behaviour from boyhood to manhood, takes a look at the role autism has played in his family and even looks into scientific explanations for Asperger's.
From the anxiety and bewilderment in social situations to the sensory overload, from his unusual dress habits to his trouble with girls, the book gives as good an insight into the condition as a person can get without actually living it.
The book is at times very funny, yet at the same time incredibly sad.
It covers Tom's autistic adventures in offices, toyshops, backstage in theatres, publishing houses and on - and more often off - roads.
Keep Clear: My Adventures With Asperger's, Tom Cutler (Scribe), RRP $32.99
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