I got the results of my ADHD evaluation today and wanted to share it. The additional diagnosis will affect my content a bit going forward because I’m going to be focusing on both Autism and ADHD—mostly in regard to writing but I’ll probably talk about how it overlaps some of my other interests as well.

I will still be sharing my fiction and nonfiction writing, including book excerpts, creative writing and metaphysical posts.

I was told that I have ADHD with high impulsivity which explains a lot. To me, this was interesting because I felt that autism didn’t really explain everything I’ve been dealing with, particularly in regard to my creative projects. More on this in the video!

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🔊UPDATE: I did go ahead and rename the podcast. It’s now Writing On The Spectrum. You can listen on Substack, Spotify or most popular podcast apps. Not sure about the channel art but this is what I have for now 👇 The pic is about three years old. My hair is a little longer and I’m wearing my old glasses, but it’s the only fairly recent pic I have with a microphone.

What is the difference between memoir and autobiography? What is the actual point of sharing our experience? What happens when that experience is difficult or dark?

This episode of the podcast talks about all of these questions but mostly focuses on my experience with difficult material. So I wanted to answer the first couple of questions, below, in text format.

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Memoir vs. Autobiography

An autobiography and a memoir are not the same thing.

An autobiography focuses on a person’s entire life. Memoir covers a slice of life in a topical way. While that slice can span decades, it should reflect the memoir’s overarching topic or theme. What doesn’t reflect the theme is extraneous.

For me, this was the first sticking point (more about that in the podcast), because even though I was writing an autism memoir, I found it impossible to talk about autism in isolation.

Knowing what did and didn’t relate to the autism theme was tricky. In some instances (like trauma) the relationship was clear, in others (like supernatural experience) it was not.

I had trouble figuring out what was relevant and what wasn’t, so I just decided to write the thing.

Then I got stuck again.

Sharing Our Experience

According to NYT’s journalist and memoirist, Marion Roach, there’s a reason why we share our personal experience in memoir. And that reason isn’t catharsis or getting even with people or even making sense of things.

It’s illustrating a point.

In memoir our life experience, per Roach, is an anecdote that helps explain the theme. While I’m not sure I agree with that completely, there is no doubt that Roach knows how to make her life experience work that way.

Roach’s book The Memoir Project contains some lovely examples of transcendence in writing. There is reason she is successful.

It’s worth stressing, however, that Roach isn’t an amateur and while writing examples of the type that she shares in The Memoir Project that can illustrate a point than also make us feel a little outclassed.

My writing is sloppy, compared to someone who writes for the NYT, but I do find meaning through doing it. I feel that has worth, even when—or probably especially when—it’s difficult.

Whether or not, I can produce a readable memoir remains to be seen.

For more on this topic, please check out the podcast! It is a separate thing, not a rehash of what you just read :)

Listen to my Sharing Our Story podcast here: https://barbaragraver.substack.com/p/sharing-our-autism-story-ep-6-7fb

Why Autistic POV is leaving podbean and how it relates to autism and increased focus. While the podcast will now be hosted on Substack at barbaragraver.substack.com it will still be syndicated to Apple, Spotify, and elsewhere under the name Autistic POV. You just might have to look for new episodes as the old Autistic POV won't be update.

Or simply join me on substack!

I hope to see you there and thank you so much for listening.

NOTE: If you see various episodes of the podcast please look for the logo with the rainy day rainy day rainbow background (instead of the purple one)! You can see the new logo below.

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• Listen to the NEW Autistic POV (and all the old episodes) on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/3Ot2c01IU5MfpEoIvvPDde
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• Listen on Apple at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/autistic-pov/id1828995708
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• Listen on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b0a4f4bf-4711-4d63-8cf4-6035db7a4c50/autistic-pov
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• Listen on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/podcast/Autistic-POV/B0D9ZRFH73?source_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp
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• Or check out my Substack Autistic POV podcast page to listen for free at: https://barbaragraver.substack.com/s/autistic-pov-podcast
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Here is the new logo!