Rose Smitten is an autistic teenager who wrote her part of this book when she was 11 years old. She has also created the illustrations for this book herself. Jodie Clarke is Roses mum. She is a practitioner working with neurodivergent children and their families, who also offers training in autism and ADHD. Jodie holds a MA in Autism (with a focus on autistic masking), and is also neurodivergent.
The Secret Life of Rose covers a range of topics that are central to the autistic experience. While Rose writes peer-to-peer, her mum Jodie adds the perspective of an adult who is also a professional in the field. The end result is a book that opens up the autistic experience in a way that is both fresh and accessible. This is an updated and expanded edition based on a successfully self-published version, offering new content on burnout, shutdown and monotropism.