One Year of Girl Unmasked
It is the 28th March 2025 - one whole year since the publication of Girl Unmasked: How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life. One year ago today, at my book launch, I stood at the front of a room packed with almost everyone I loved and cried for a solid twenty minutes. I couldn’t believe I had made it out of those years that I’d written about alive. I couldn’t help the feeling of guilt, for those who hadn’t made it through. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to feel so loved.
Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of being an author and writing stories. I never imagined that I would write a memoir - but my anger at what I had been through and what I saw so many others going through meant that there were a lot of things that I needed to tell the world. It felt like I had been failed to some extent, and the more that I found out others were being failed too, the angrier and sadder I became.
Except, by the time it came to publication, I was terrified. About people I knew and loved reading about my life. About strangers making judgements. About jeopardising my career for no reason. I overthought all of my decisions, wondering if 19-year-old me had made the decision to share Girl Unmasked with the world. I was 22 when it was released but 19 when I wrote the first draft and 20 when I signed with my literary agent. I had made myself vulnerable and I didn’t know what was going to happen next.
I had been warned about the anticlimax of book publishing. Authors often describe a ‘crash’ when the book is actually released, because the publishing process is so drawn out and long. The first weekend after Girl Unmasked’s release, I climbed to the top of a hill and declared to literally nobody that I wanted the anticlimax to hit. I recognise the privilege in this, but I just felt so overwhelmed. I had a meltdown and switched my phone off for eight hours.
Those few months were chaotic. I made the Sunday Times Bestseller list (a literal life highlight). I had an event at Waterstones where I some some amazing young people. I was on the front page of BBC News (slightly terrifying). The weeks flew by, my days spent at my 9-5 job then coming home to an avalanche of messages and demands from both the online world and the writing career I had stumbled upon. Messages started flooding in. From families who had been through similar experiences to mine. From professionals wanting to let me know how much my book had helped. Young people telling me Girl Unmasked had changed their life - sometimes even saved their life, something I can’t even fathom. I felt such a weight of responsibility.
But these messages reminded me why I had written Girl Unmasked in the first place. Who I had written it for. The book is dedicated to my parents, for fighting for me when I couldn’t fight for myself. But, really, I wrote the book for 16-year-old me, who needed the professionals around her to understand. Who needed to know why she was different and needed hope that there was a place for her in the world. Whenever I go back to that fact, the anxiety around people reading it fades. Girl Unmasked started because I was angry at my own experiences and I needed a way of releasing that anger. It was published because of my anger at how many others were experiencing similar journeys to myself.
I am so grateful that Girl Unmasked has, I am told, made a difference. I feel so lucky to have been in the position to share my story and had the support around me to be able to do so. I recognise my privilege in that.
Girl Unmasked is just my story. Please actively seek out a diverse range of voices and read and uplift their stories too.
So. Happy first birthday to the book that made me an author and made my childhood dream come true - even though I wish I hadn’t had to write it. I hope one day all autistic people are granted the understanding and support they deserve. Thank you to everyone who has read Girl Unmasked, recommended it and sent me lovely messages. I am truly grateful.
All my love,
Emily x
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Related blog posts…
GIRL UNMASKED: Q&A (1 April 2024)
GIRL UNMASKED: Publication Week, Podcasts and Waterstones Event (8 April 2024)
The Publishing Process and How I Became a Sunday Times Bestseller (22 Feb 2025)
“Emily’s debut book is a literary and scholarly masterpiece. I was gripped and moved by her vivacious and eloquent writing style. The book is overflowing with specialist knowledge which, as a Consultant Psychiatrist and Honorary Visiting Professor, humbled and inspired me. I learned so much from reading Unmasked. To be honest, I think it needs more recognition. It is such a compelling and riveting read. Emily engages both the mind and the heart with her intellect and compassion. The prologue in particular was deeply affecting. Emily should take great pride in this accomplishment. Her book is an incredibly important contribution to the autism literature. A book everyone should read, especially psychiatrists. Well done Emily. A huge congratulations to you and thank you for stimulating our minds and touching our hearts.”
“An uncompromising portrait of what life can be like for autistic people if left undiagnosed in childhood. It’s beautifully written, there are some laughs and there are points where I cried. It’s one of those books that captures the reality of autism. I recognise some of the experiences Emily’s had and others open my eyes to things I haven’t. I was left wanting to read on and on. Few authors manage that. I think this will become a seminal book for autistic people, especially those who are not yet diagnosed and floundering looking for places to anchor themselves in the maelstrom.”
“This book hits so close to home...Emily makes me feel less alone, she gives me hope for a life worth living. Seeing her go through the horrors of the intrinsic link between autism and mental illness, and coming out the other side, living the life she wants, gives me so much hope. I’m so glad she got to share her story and she gives me inspiration that I will be able to too.”
“I hope I can always remember having read this book and the messages it held. One word to describe this book would be beautiful, even beyond its own definition, a simple kind of beautiful, a comforting type of beautiful, but still with all its invisible light shining out the pages, beautiful. ”
“This book made me cry, full on SOB, laugh, become angry, feel emotions that (thank you alexithymia) I’ll not really be able to work out, and above all, made me feel seen, so seen. Thank you so much Emily, for making me feel seen in ways no one ever has.”
“I’m in tears and I don’t know if I will ever be able to articulate how this book has made me feel. It is like someone has taken my life, my words, my thoughts, my experiences and turned them into a book. My experiences of school, of mental health units, of everything. I feel so seen and heard. The most powerful and validating book I have ever and probably will ever read. Thank you.”
“Enlightening, empowering, and a truly important read for all. Girl Unmasked is an incredibly debut; Emily’s honest and beautiful prose change the lens through which we see the world, opening our eyes to the trauma and struggles being endured and to the woefully inadequate system in place failing so many. It’s a compelling, resilient, and brave account full of warmth an insight...it’s a story that’s equally heartbreaking and hopeful about breaking, healing, understanding, accepting, and thriving...I highly recommend to all readers; it’s a book I won’t be forgetting any time soon.”
“A beacon of hope for the next generation of autistic people. This book extends far beyond the autistic community. ‘Girl Unmasked’ can be a powerful eye-opener for anyone seeking to create a more supportive and inclusive world. A powerful voice and lasting impact.”
“This book has the power to change lives and how I wish that I had this growing up to tell me that despite everything I went through that my Autism should be celebrated. Emily’s story is such a difficult read in places, but I admire her so much for sharing it both the good the bad and at times moments that bring a tear to my eye.”
“I can’t remember ever feeling so seen and heard by a book, or feeling part of something positive and valuable instead of just weird and alone. Emily Katy’s writing voice is clear, direct and powerful: resonant with both strength and vulnerability; with humour, sadness and anger. I was moved to tears more than once while reading.”
“This book is quite remarkable. It’s an essential read for psychiatrists, mental health nurses, teachers, social workers, parents and so many others. Emily Katy writes with honesty, compassion and huge insight. An absolute game-changer, which will influence our education and mental health system going forwards.”
“Girl Unmasked should be a set, or at least recommended text for teachers, doctors, social workers, psychologists...so much to learn that will impact the way people practise. You simply can’t carry on working in the way you were before reading this book - it changes you.”
GIRL UNMASKED (The Sunday Times Bestseller) is available to order from Amazon and all major bookstores as a hardback, paperback, audiobook and ebook.
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