144 [Re-release] From psychiatric trauma to autistic joy: a journey of healing and self discovery

Laura Richmond is a writer, researcher and doll restorer from Southampton in the UK. This episode is from 2023 - I've re-released it because Laura just recorded a new episode with me, episode 145.

At the time this re-released episode was recorded it was just a year on from Laura's autism diagnosis, and she was on the brink of publishing her memoir.

Now 38, Laura was formally recognised as autistic in 2022 after an extremely difficult set of experiences. Social and emotional struggles in childhood led to her being in and out of the psychiatric system for 15 years, misdiagnosed and spending time in various psychiatric hospitals. The turning point came when her son was born: after a traumatic birth she developed PTSD and spent time in a psychiatric mother and baby unit. Her positive experience there, so unlike her previous time in hospital, led her to begin writing about her experiences and unravelling her own history, leading to her autism diagnosis and her memoir, All My Worldly Joy, which was published in January 2026, and which I highly recommend.

Laura and I covered so many different things in this conversation! Although some of the topics we discuss are not easy, I believe it's so important that these stories are told.

Some of the things we talk about are:

➡ Why she was initially cautious about getting an autism diagnosis

➡ Her mental health challenges, self harm, and her time in psychiatric services

➡ Hyperlexia, sensory issues and the double empathy problem

➡ Her journey of self discovery through writing her memoir and tapping into autistic joy

CONTENT WARNING:

Please be aware that there is discussion of self harm, mental health difficulties, the psychiatric system and birth trauma from the start and at various points throughout this episode, so if you don't wish to hear about these topics, you may want to skip this one.

Squarepeg is a podcast in which I talk to other late identified autistic women and nonbinary people about their lives, their autism journeys, and what they've learned along the way.

I'm Amy Richards, and I was diagnosed autistic in 2016, when I was 37. I've been sharing my conversations with other autistic adults since 2020.

I hope you'll find these conversations inspiring and thought provoking, and that they'll help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

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EPISODE LINKS:

Laura's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/cooksferryqueen/

Buy Laura's book: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/all-my-worldly-joy-a-memoir-of-motherhood-and-mental-health-laura-richmond/7785126

Waterstones link: https://www.waterstones.com/book/all-my-worldly-joy/laura-richmond/9781806770137

Laura's LinkTree (all her links): https://linktr.ee/cooksferryqueen

If you'd like to connect with me, get in touch or follow Squarepeg, you can find me on:

Website: https://squarepeg.community/

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarepegautism/

THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS!

A HUGE thank you to my amazing patrons, who support my work on the podcast:

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