Autism Out Loud was an emotional ride. I resonated so much with the ladies stories, as i have two children (11 & 5) on the spectrum. As a parent with a special needs child you don't always feel seen. Unfortunately that's life sometimes and I respected their stories and the unconditional love that truly poured out from the pages. It was so nice to read this entire book and not feel like i am alone. A reminder that storm clouds do indeed lift!! <3
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this informative gem!

REVIEW: Autism Out Loud by Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, and Adrian Wood

Happy Autism Acceptance Month! I picked up this book because I am also a mother of a son with autism. Stories like these are a great way to connect with others about the autism community. Even though everyone's experience is unique, there is a shared love and struggles with life with autism.

Autism Out Loud was such a great read! Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, and Adrian Wood are all moms of a son with autism. Each chapter has a theme that all three moms share stories related to. Some themes include diagnosis day, siblings, community, education, caregiving vs. motherhood, and the future. They all share so many experiences, both positive and negative, that help not only those in an autistic family, but also those who may work with, know someone, or are just curious to learn more about autism.

Overall, I enjoyed Autism Out Loud. It shared different experiences with new information in every story. They made me laugh and cry in the best ways possible.

Thank you, Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. I have been following Kate’s journey since my own child began showing signs of Autism, and she has always been such an inspiration and powerful advocate for the community.

This book beautifully follows the lives of three women as they navigate the challenges, joys, and complexities of raising children on the spectrum. As a parent myself, I found it incredibly relatable and comforting—like a reminder that I am not alone in this journey.

Each story is honest, emotional, and deeply moving, offering insight and connection that I believe every reader—whether they are part of the Autism community or not—can learn from. It’s a powerful, emotional, yet ultimately inspirational read. This is a book everyone should read.

A must read for families with Autism. Autism really is a spectrum and with three different viewpoints, this book captures some of the range. A well thought out, well written book on the impact of autism on families, the hope, the resilience and the understanding of the challenges for the whole family, not just the individual with autism. With an honest, open, vulnerable acknowledgement of the challenges, the joys and the journey. An acknowledgment of the lack of understanding and opening a window to understanding, I would really recommend this book for everyone, not just families with autism as it would improve the understanding for everyone.

We recently received an autism diagnosis for my two year old son, and this was exactly the book I needed at the perfect time. At a diagnosis meeting you receive a heavy amount of information and suggestions, but still no one tells you what exactly your next steps are or what your future will look like. No one helps you process. It is a lonely experience. This book was the friend I needed to gather around me and tell me that it’s going to be okay - that I can do this. It helps to have three women who are in the next few stages of life tell me what their experiences were, what I can expect, and most importantly - show me the joy that lies ahead.

Listening and reading through these experiences was truly profound. As a mother of an almost 15-year-old autistic son, I found myself deeply moved, sometimes even to tears. Every word resonated with me, and I felt so connected to the emotions and struggles shared.

My son has made incredible progress over the years, yet there are still moments when he feels lost—when the world seems too overwhelming, too indifferent to the tenderness of his heart. So often, people fail to see the depth of his emotions, the kindness in his soul, the effort behind every step he takes. It’s a journey filled with challenges, but it is also something immense, something beyond words—a love so fierce, a pride so deep, and a connection so unbreakable.

This experience wasn’t just about reading or listening; it was about feeling. It was about seeing my own story reflected in others, knowing that I am not alone in this journey, and finding comfort in the shared struggles and triumphs. It was emotional, raw, and incredibly powerful.

Thank you, Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, and Adrian Wood, for sharing your voices and experiences. Your words truly touched my heart.

I like the concept for this book and the cover art, and I believe the subjects for each chapter were well thought out. It’s been surprisingly difficult to rate and review this book, which I was not expecting. Written by three Mothers, all with a child on the Autism Spectrum, Kate, Adrian and Carrie share stories of their unique experiences in Motherhood. Starting with the diagnosis, and the initial feelings that come with it, to juggling their neurotypical children, marriages, medications as well as challenges with leaving the house.

I have mixed feelings about how they relayed their accounts.. While I think that this book best serves the parents just entering this diagnosis, I would have liked a much more lengthy and raw description of this life that you will never see depicted on television. I was not a fan of the chapter on Anxiety. It might be their truths, but it was unintentionally misleading as to the ups and downs with medication and autism. This coming from a fellow parent whose body is a road map of scars, taken out on me for medications that did the opposite of help control my child’s self injurious behaviors and created even more aggression.

Overall, I’m happy to have read this. It’s incredibly difficult for a parent to share their story. The online Autism Community is easily the most toxic community I’ve ever witnessed and I applaud anyone who is willing to put themselves through the scrutiny in order to advocate and educate the masses.

Thank you NetGalley and to the Publisher for this advanced copy.

Autism Out Loud shares the stories of three mothers who each have a son who is on the spectrum. Together they detail & navigate their personal experiences within the world of autism & provide support for other parents in the journey.

They specifically write about “Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood” - which is incredibly informative & important! I truly appreciated the way in which each mom shared some of the personal details and lessons learned in their journey of parenting children with ASD - not only was it insightful but for me, it was also personal. My son is on the spectrum & I also work professionally as a social worker for individuals with developmental disabilities - so when I say that I live in the disability support & advocacy space, that’s exactly what I mean!

I found it so helpful to hear the nuances that each mom detailed - finding bits of my son and our journey in their stories. I gained further insight into the differences when it comes to services for individuals with ASD & how that can vary greatly between states too - it blew my mind & made me grateful to live in Minnesota!

This book helped me to feel seen, understood and less alone - while also reminding me of some very important aspects of autism and the impact it has on my son. I’d be lying if I said that I read this book without tears, because there were plenty, but in the same way that the tears felt like a release, they were also an acknowledgement of the acceptance that can be found in the midst of the grief that one can feel when facing diagnoses of this kind.

Lastly, I felt that the audiobook being narrated by each mother was such a special and authentic touch! Hearing the story literally being told in their own voice was an absolute privilege ☺️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy before the April 1st release. I am a huge fan of Adrian, Kate and Carrie and listen to their “lives” on Facebook every chance I get. I loved their book, they co-wrote together, Autism Out Loud. Everyone who reads it will come away with a better understanding of what it is like to live with someone with Autism and hopefully to make the public more aware of Autism. I thoroughly enjoyed it!! I give it all the stars and recommend it to all.

A hopeful, informative and helpful look at three mother's different experiences raising children on the autism spectrum. This is a great book for anyone looking to learn more about the various ways Autism can present and that no two cases are the same. Well written and relatable and highly recommended for libraries looking to add to their nonfiction collections on this topic.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was a powerful read as a mother of an autistic child, but I would recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about autism.

Autism Out Loud is an immersive journey into three mother's lives living with autistic sons. This was such a powerful read not only for those who are diagnosed with autism, but their families, friends, and caregivers who live alongside them. The three authors share their experiences as they navigated diagnoses, marriage and family life after a diagnosis, education, and regular life challenges. Two of the authors have sons under 18 and one author has an adult son, and I appreciated her viewpoint of adult independence while living with autism. I feel this is often overlooked or forgotten. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you have personal experience with autism or not.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and the authors for this advanced copy. Autism Out Loud is available on April 1, 2025.

This isn’t a Christiam book (some of the authors do mention church), but it’s one I chose to review because I am the grandmother of an autistic child. One of the coauthors of this book, Kate Swenson is well-known in the autism community for her blog, Finding Cooper’s Voice https://www.findingcoopersvoice.com/. The other two women are members of her on-line community and have become special friends over the years.

This is a wonderful book! Each author tells her own story and experiences with different challenges faced by parents of special needs children. They are each the mother of an autistic son, all of them now older children or young adults, so they have lived with these issues for a long time. Some of the topics they cover are:

*How it feels to get the diagnosis of autism

*Sibling relationships

*How raising an autistic child can impact your marriage and other relationships

*Does my child need medication?

*Feeling isolated

*Educational challenges

*What will their future look like — will my child ever have a job? live on his own? go to college? what will happen to him when we die?

Of course, there is much more, and each mother has a child of a different age, and with differing diagnoses. What I loved about this book was the honest sharing of both the difficulties and the joys of raising such a child. Sometimes I was brought to tears by their descriptions of the love shown by siblings, the way they overcome great odds to communicate, and the patience of the families involved.

You will come away with a better understanding of what it means to be autistic, and the kind of help and understanding these children and their families need.

10/10. I am not autistic but on the spectrum with ADHD diagnosed as an adult. Reading this made me feel see but also allowed me to better understand others.

Thank you Net Galley, Kate Swenson; Carrie Cariello; Adrian Wood and Park Row for this ARC copy of Autism Out Loud.

This was a very powerful and eye-opening read as three mothers share their journey in life with one singular thing: they each have a child with autism. I enjoyed learning about these women, their families, and how they advocate for their children and whole family. This was very informative to me and allowed me to further evaluate my relationships with my students and their families who have a child with Autism. I love reading books that can impact my teaching career, but even more so when the books deal with the whole family. Definitely a book I will share with my colleagues, families, and friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.


Autism Out Loud is an incredibly raw and powerful book that dives deep into the realities of life with autism, not just for those diagnosed but for the families and individuals who share that journey. The quote, “Autism is the suitcase I carry every moment of every day. It’s adjusting to the weight only to have it change, and it’s coming to terms that someday, I will be forced to set it down. And wondering, who will pick it up for me and carry it the rest of the way,” resonated deeply with me. Growing up around autism, I found this metaphor heartbreakingly accurate and relatable, capturing both the weight of responsibility and the vulnerability that comes with it.

The three perspectives shared in the book were a highlight, showcasing the diverse experiences and challenges faced by individuals and their families. Each journey is unique, and the stories of the mothers, in particular, were inspiring and deeply moving. Their resilience and determination remind us of the strength it takes to navigate life alongside autism.

What struck me most was the way the book highlights the often-overlooked gap between high school and adult independence. As someone who’s passionate about advocating for better support systems for individuals with autism, this book reignited my drive to push for change in this critical area. The line, “I think of him, tucked away in his dorm-like space, working his very hardest to build a life around a diagnosis—or perhaps in spite of it—and my heart swells with pride,” perfectly encapsulates the mix of pride and worry that many families feel as their loved ones navigate adulthood.

I would recommend this book to anyone, whether they have no experience with autism or have spent a lifetime surrounded by it. For those unfamiliar, it’s an eye-opening journey. For those who’ve lived it, it’s a comforting reminder that you’re not alone. Autism Out Loud is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the complexities, challenges, and triumphs of life with autism.

This was such a wonderful book. Ive been following kate and carrie and i just feel like we are all pn the same team