Autistic Diaries (Fleksibind)

Autistiske journaler

Author:

Johanne Nordby Wernø

Norwegian title: Kaninen har stått opp
Norwegian subtitle: Autistiske journaler
Author:
Binding: Fleksibind
Year: 2025
Pages: 256
Publisher: Cappelen Damm
Språk: Bokmål
ISBN/EAN: 9788202803117
Kategori: Narrative Non-fiction
Overview Kaninen har stått opp

Autistic Diaries is a contribution to our understanding of autism’s many facets, and an appeal for new attitudes towards neurodiversity. Perhaps new stories about autism can serve an even broader purpose: allowing us all to be both strong and vulnerable – and, above all, different.

One July morning, the summer I turned 42, I woke up with a brand new thought.

Author Johanne Nordby Wernø discovered at the age of 42 that she is autistic – after living half her life, having children, and holding leadership positions. Autistic Diaries recounts the months that followed this realisation. With energetic and emotionally perceptive prose, the author tells the story of her late diagnosis.

What connects Agatha Christie's famous disappearance in 1926 with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in a particular neighbourhood in Oslo? What unites the philosophical insights of Emmanuel Levinas with Julian Assange's sense of justice and Lisa Simpson's lonely intellect? Why has there long been an interest group in Scotland for women diagnosed with autism later in life, while in Norway doctors still send people home without a referral to a specialist if they can make eye contact and hold a job? And is it a coincidence that the Scottish organisation has the same name as the hotel where Agatha Christie was found after her disappearance?

After four decades of feeling different, Wernø finally had an explanation. She soon realised that the stories of late-diagnosed autistics – especially women – were shockingly absent from public discourse.

«What does it actually mean to write good nonfiction with verve and creative surplus As a critic, it can sometimes be difficult to define, until suddenly one day you're sitting there with a prime example in your hands. When you know you know. And with art critic and curator Johanne Nordby Wernø's debut book, Autistic Diaries, you just know. That here, you've gained access to a completely unique, autobiographical voice. And that this will most likely stand as one of the best non-fiction releases of the year. […] Here, every sentence has been measured and weighed, not a single word feels overused or chosen at random; in fact, I simply don't think there's a single lacklustre formulation across nearly 250 pages.»
MORGENBLADET

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Reviews Kaninen har stått opp

Sterkt og nært om autisme 04.06.2025

Setning for setning, avsnitt for avsnitt er dette en usedvanlig velskrevet bok.
Dette er en god og viktig bok. Den kan til og med lære nevronormale mennesker noe om det å eksistere og sanse verden. For bare den som står utenfor kan se rett inn.

 
Andreas Wiese, Dagbladet

Kva er ein autist? 13.06.2025

Johanne Nordby Wernø har skrive ei lovlaus og vilter bok som blandar grep frå essaysjangeren, memoarar, brev og fiksjon - uanfekta av litterære konvensjonar. Det er begeistrande, for slikt renn det ikkje over med i norsk samtidslitteratur.

Ida Lødemel Tvedt, Dag og Tid

«...hva vil det egentlig si å skrive god, «overskuddspreget» sakprosa? Som kritiker kan det noen ganger være vanskelig å definere, helt til man plutselig en dag sitter der med et prakteksempel mellom hendene. You know when you know. Og med kunstkritiker og kurator Johanne Nordby Wernøs debutbok Kaninen har stått opp, så vet du. At man her har fått tilgang på en helt særegen, selvbiografisk stemme. Og at dette mest sannsynlig kommer til å bli stående som en av årets beste sakprosautgivelser.[…] Her er alle setninger målt og veid, intet ord føles oppbrukt eller vilkårlig utvalgt, ja, jeg tror simpelthen ikke det finnes én eneste daff formulering over nærmere 250 sider.»

Johanne Elster Hanson, Morgenbladet

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Author Johanne Nordby Wernø

Johanne Nordby Wernø (b. 1980) has written about visual arts and related subjects since 1999. For several years she ran her own communications agency, focused on the art field; today she works as a curator. Autistic Diaries (2025) is her debut book.

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