As You Are

Overall Rating: 3/5 Stars. Read the review on  Goodreads . From Darkness Won (The Blood of Kings Book 3) by Jill Williamson I wanted to rate this book higher, I really did. But I have too many criticisms for the series as a whole to give it more than an average rating. There were things I liked about it too, which is why I didn't just drop it. I'll try to summarize briefly. Pros 1. I like the main character, Achan. He's tenacious, teachable, but hangs on to his old "less desirable" identity as a stray even as a prince. He makes plenty of mistakes but bounces back from them having learned to be a better man. 2. I can tell that Williamson put a lot of effort into writing a story that would point to God and not to man. I read very little Christian fantasy because most of it is trite. While The Blood of Kings trilogy didn't escape that unscathed, it was still an enjoyable read that ultimately gave credit to God for the triumph over evil. Cons 1. Williamson's w...

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Warning: this may be a bit of a ramble. If you've read my previous posts about autism, you know that I've self-diagnosed autism and used that for my own personal growth for several years now. In the last year, I became about as certain about my own diagnosis as I could be, but put off seeking an official diagnosis because of the difficulties inherent in seeking one as an autistic woman.  Then, the perfect practitioner more or less fell into my lap. Neurodivergent herself, with an autistic child and a husband with ADHD, a specialist in adult autism and ADHD - I would be hard-pressed to find a qualified individual with that kind of personal experience locally. She does all her evaluations virtually. It was a two-hour conversation, and she gave me my answer at the end of the appointment.  "Well, you were right. You're autistic. Welcome to the club!" Hoooo, boy. Those words are going to stick in my mind. I was right . My self-assessment...

Books are a huge part of my identity. As such, I decided to start sharing my thoughts about my adventures in fiction here, in addition to my account on Goodreads. Enjoy! Criminal Minds  meets  X-Men , and it's as Vicious as promised. All I knew about this book when I picked it up were two things: 1, I loved  A Darker Shade of Magic  and its sequels beyond belief, so I was willing to give just about anything else by V.E. Schwab a good chance; 2, I remembered hearing a rumor that this particular book was about villains (I hadn't seen the series title, yet). Having failed so far in my reading adventures to find a decent book from a villain's point of view, I was stoked to find out Schwab had given it a shot. I was  not  disappointed. Vicious  is like  Criminal Minds  meets  X-Men . Psychosis and superpowers, intertwined and inseparable... or are they? In this aspect, Schwab's world reminds me of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere, especially his...

I'm back again, to talk more about the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder. If you missed the previous post about self-diagnosis and the first portion of the DSM-V criteria, check it out  before you keep reading. We covered the three main areas of struggle for Autism Spectrum Disorder: verbal and emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication, and the initiation and maintaining of relationships.  However, that's not all there is to it. There's a second portion to the criteria with four sub-points to it. In order to be diagnosed, an individual has to struggle with at least two of the four subpoints. Here it is: "Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text): 1. Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys or flipping objects, echola...

Diagnosis can be complicated subject for people with ASD. Unless your parents caught it while you were still a child, the chances are good that you're undiagnosed. I have heard of adults getting late diagnoses as well - it's not unheard of - but ASD is by definition a developmental disorder, which means that insurance companies tend to have little to gain by supporting the pursuance of an adult diagnosis. Why? Because adults rarely need the sorts of things diagnosed children receive, such as occupational therapy for motor skills. For adults, it's often a case of getting tested, getting the diagnosis, and walking away.  Then, add in the process of finding a competent autism specialist, especially one that knows what the disorder looks like in adults. That issue is even further compounded if you happen to be female. Most research done into ASD was conducted on largely male groups, and it's only recently that research has begun on how ASD can present differently in women. ...

It's a common dream to move to the country and start a new life. Live in a quaint town where the main shops are family-owned and everyone knows everyone else. Perhaps raise a few chickens and start a garden, with your dog for company.  My husband, Jeff, and I have a similar dream, to be honest. We've both grown up in suburban areas with hardworking dads and stay-at-home, homeschooling moms. It was a good childhood, for both of us. Soon after we got married at twenty years old, we realized we absolutely hated living that sort of life as adults. And the more I think about it, the more I think our ASD has to do with that. Life is stressful. Managing bills, work, social obligations, cleaning the house, car maintenance, grocery shopping, cooking, family members feeling neglected, laundry, marriage, and attempts to plan a path into the future is a very full plate for a socially-inept autistic prone to feeling overwhelmed. Especially when it all piles up because oh shoot, I forgot abo...

I don't know about everyone in the church, but I've heard a lot of stories from young women about how being raised in the church has impacted their sex lives. Especially the "sex was treated as a taboo topic, and now I'm married and dealing with _____ problem." I'm fairly sure most of you have heard it before as well. Then there's the other side of the coin though. The church in America seems to be gaining awareness that treating sex as something inherently sinful right up until a girl has a pair of rings on her finger is harmful (I have no idea how it impacts boys/men so I'm not even going to stray into that topic right now - perhaps I'll get my husband's thoughts on the matter for later time). So, we also have church communities that go out of their way to address love and sex, not only in their regular Sunday services, but in their youth groups as well. All well and good; they're trying to prevent their young women from entering marriage...