06/12/2026
Work on the book, "A Field Guide to the Wrong Planet," continues. This week, I produced 70 pages of new material on friendships and community, and why these are so hard for neurodivergent people.
This article is an overview, and also includes an invitation to read the full section. As well as information about how to contribute to the project directly - I've created a questionnaire that allows ND people and our loved ones to share your experiences, in as much or as little detail as you want. I see the Field Guide as a community project, and welcome your input.
A direct request: much of my best material is now transitioning to Substack. (FB has too many trolls, too much noise, too much marketing.) If this book is going to succeed, I'll need to build up a much bigger platform. And Substack is much friendlier than most platforms for the kind of writing I do. Long-form. Deep. Honest. The very opposite of soundbite click-bait culture.
So, my request: follow me on Substack. And share, if you find what I'm putting out there to be valuable, on whatever platforms you have.
For those who don't know Substack, when you click to subscribe, you will be given an option to make it a paid subscription. You don't have to do this - there's an option at the bottom that says "no pledge." I'm perfectly fine with free subscriptions, and all my work is accessible to anyone, whether you want to sign up for a paid subscription or not. I don't discriminate. So please don't be put off by that.
I printed out the current draft of the Field Guide yesterday, so I can touch it, feel it, break it up into sections on a fold-out table in my house so I can actually see where the gaps are.
348 manuscript pages. And I'd say it's only about half-done. I feel excited, terrified, proud, overwhelmed, focused, imposter-ish, and utterly determined, all at once. This thing will get done. It's going to be... well, I guess we'll see what it will be.
Please join me in this effort. The best way you can do so is to follow me on Substack (https://substack.com/) and, if you have some connection with neurodivergent life and people, fill out the survey. You don't have to dump your life story. Even if you answer just one question, it will help. The link is at the end of this article.
Oh. And also, I've opened up the Members section of my website to early adopters. There are hundreds of pages of materials there, on many, many topics related to the work I do as a therapist - complex trauma, relationships, autism, ADHD, stress, nutrition and diet, a whole wide range of things. (That's what I do. I take the things that come up with my clients, and in my life, and I research and write about it.) I'm sharing the secret password and handshake for getting into that page - it's at the end of this article. I consider this an expression of gratitude to people who are paying attention and who really care.
It's a lifetime access code - there will eventually be a paywall, because this is proprietary stuff that has cost me blood, sweat, and tears to create. I do eventually want to get a tangible financial reward for all this time and effort. But I also don't want it to be exploitive.
Info on how to get access is at the end of this article.
As I create new material, it's showing up on Substack first, as well as Medium and the blog on my site. I'll probably put less and less effort into FB. I'd encourage you to shift platforms also. This place is, well, pretty icky.
See you on the flip side.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-201748427
A Guide to Connection, Belonging, and Building a Social Life That Fits for Neurodivergent People
