My So-Called Disorder: Autism, Exploding Trucks, and the Big Daddy of Rock and Roll

By Peter O'Neil

"Being identified as autistic at an advanced age is a revelation-an "aha!" moment of the first order. It's like being told, at sixty-five, "But mon ami, you are French! You did not know?" Suddenly, and for the very first time, the accent, the beret, the funny car, and your weirdly intense interest in Jerry Lewis all make sense."

Peter O'Neil had just such a "moment" after a forty year legal career, a second marriage, three kids, a granddaughter, seven unusually solitary years of college, and a lifetime of "special interests." O'Neil tells his story with humor and grace, and makes the case that autistic and otherwise neurodivergent people bring different ways of seeing and understanding to the workplace and are valuable and necessary to any human endeavor.
"A valuable and charismatic first-hand contribution to understanding the autistic experience. Peter O'Neil's witty storytelling provides an easy-to-read call to action that bravely advocates for autistic and neurodivergent professionals. O'Neil's exploration of identity emphasizes how autistic individuals can truly thrive when their unique gifts (or quirks) are met with creativity and trust." Laura Sheridan, M.A.Ed. Psychotherapist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BYCCZ53D
• ISBN13: 9798218156985
• Release Date: March 2023
• Publisher: Peter O'Neil
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Enlightenment After a Stunning Late-in-Life Diagnosis

"My So-Called Disorder" is a fascinating and timely read that runs the gamut from a lonely childhood to an insider's look at high-stakes consumer law by an attorney a la Mike Ross of "Suits." As Peter O'Neil explains in the introduction, "Being identified as autistic at an advanced age is a revelation . . . like being told, at sixty-five . . . you are French." Along the way you travel down a series of rabbit holes, as O'Neil has done throughout his life, with interests (some might say obsessions) as varied as Chuck Berry, writing and publishing his own books as a kid, to repairing rosaries and more, culminating in a prodigious affinity and memory for technical research to win life-or-death cases. As you read this riveting and entertaining memoir, you may gain surprising insight into that "weird" or puzzling relative or friend--or even yourself.