Authenticity in Action: Why 'Unmasking for Life' Is Essential Reading for Autistic Adults

I’m a huge fan of Dr. Devon Price’s book, Unmasking Autism, so when I heard that he had a new book called Unmasking for Life: The Autistic Person's Guide to Connecting, Loving, and Living Authentically coming out, I was sold without needing to hear any details! I called my local bookstore on its release day to make sure they had it and stopped by soon after. After spending a couple of weeks with this fantastic book, I can wholeheartedly recommend it!

Unmasking Autism truly changed my life, and I can already tell that Unmasking for Life will as well. I recently looked back over Unmasking Autism to prepare for the new book (I do this a lot for movies, series, and books to refresh my memory), and was honestly surprised by how much from it I’ve fully integrated into my life. I remember its concepts feeling completely revolutionary when I read them a few years ago. It was exactly what I needed to start me on my anti-ableist unmasking journey. I recommend it to every autistic adult and do recommend reading it before Unmasking for Life. The anti-ableist concepts in Unmasking Autism are foundational to unmasking as an autistic adult. Of course, you could skip it and be perfectly fine, but why miss out on such a wonderful book that gives you that foundation?

Now, if you’re here to find out if it’s worth it to read the “sequel” next, I’m here to tell you that it’s a totally different book that builds off that foundation to create another critical read! Unmasking Autism focuses mainly on undoing our internalized ableism, getting in touch with our true selves, and challenging the world’s ableism by showing those selves to the world proudly. So when I saw that Unmasking for Life focuses on five skills that autistic adults can develop to continue the process of unmasking, I thought at least some of those same topics would come up in the new five. But they’re completely different! These new skills accomplish the same goal of being unapologetically ourselves, but define that work in more specific, actionable ways.

For example, the fourth skill is “tolerance of distress, disagreement, or being disliked.” As I wrote in my last post, “Why Autistic Unmasking Feels Impossible To Maintain (And How to Fix It),” many autistic adults stop unmasking when faced with the ableist reactions of others. So I absolutely love this framing that a key skill we need in order to continue unmasking is to tolerate those reactions. This specific skill is very necessary for long-term unmasking, even though it is quite challenging to build. There is certainly some tough love in this book! (That’s another reason I recommend starting with Unmasking Autism. It sets up the trust and understanding needed for taking that hard look in the mirror with Dr. Price as a guide.) 

In addition, after detailing these five core skills for unmasking, he goes into the five areas of our lives where we can use these skills: friendship, family, work, romantic relationships, and greater society. With a chapter on each of these, this book contains so much helpful information on how to use the five skills in each area so that we can be our unmasked selves in all parts of our lives. I especially love the chapter on work and how to survive in a capitalist and ableist society. You know I love to think outside the box in my own “career.”

One thing I love about Dr. Devon Price’s writing is his use of helpful examples from the lives of diverse autistic adults, and that continues here. I don’t know about you, but I remember concepts much better when given these examples. His writing is a bit academic (he is a professor, after all), but the examples make it much more digestible and clear. So I appreciate them in Unmasking for Life as well.

If you are on an unmasking journey of your own, I think you’ll get a lot out of Unmasking for Life. It feels like the natural progression in my own effort to unmask after integrating what I learned from Unmasking Autism over the last few years. Those of us who are figuring out we’re autistic in these times are so fortunate to have Dr. Devon Price’s writings to guide us toward authentic, proud autistic living.

So get it from your local library or local small book store! Or if you want it delivered to your doorstep, I recommend Bookshop.org so that your purchase can benefit small bookstores instead of lining Jeff Bezos's pockets.

P.S. I've got the perfect free resource to help you on your unmasking journey, my Essential Scripts for Self-Talk While Unmasking. Download it to get started on changing the negative self-talk that is keeping you masked!

(Please note that the above links are affiliate links, and I'll get a portion of any purchases made using the links. Find my other recommended books on the below list.)

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