STIM is a sensitive and charming portrayal of an autistic man's search for a girlfriend. Robert lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, and has Autistic Spectrum Disorder which means that he finds social situations awkward. He has difficulty reading social signals and understanding social conventions, hence finding a girlfriend is much harder for him that it is for NS (Non Spectrum) people. This simple story glows with Robert's earnest and honest character. His straight forward nature is the cause of much confusion for him and many chuckles for the reader, but there's a serious side to the story, a call for celebrating neural diversity rather than shunning those whose brain works slightly differently to the norm. Reading this book will help you to understand what life is like for an autistic person and for anyone with clinical depression, that's the kind that can be treated with medication - happy pills, as Robert calls them. You'll also gain some insight into bipolar disorder. Robert … [Read more...]