Illuminated: Autism & All The Things I’ve left Unsaid

All the things I left unsaid… Melanie Sykes has been a face on our screens, a voice on our radios for nearly thirty years. As a presenter and broadcaster people turned to her for her humour, her honesty and insight. But between all the interviews and chat shows, is a life unseen, a story unsaid. Her journey – from up north to down south, from Manchester to LA and via London, Paris and India, and through the eye of the storm of celebrity culture is a rollercoaster ride. Sex, drugs and rock and roll, certainly, but also brass bands and ice cream vans, broken hearts and healing adventures – a search not for fame but for freedom. Her autism diagnosis in midlife has supercharged that journey – and means this isn’t a story just of breakdown, but of breakthrough. Funny, furious and gloriously frank, this is a book that lifts the lid on being a woman in the media, navigating relationships, and being a neurodivergent person speaking up in a neurotypical world. Illuminated is Melanie, in her own inimitable voice. In Illuminated, Melanie Sykes, a top figure in the entertainment industry, shares her personal journey through the spectrum of life. This non-fiction memoir covers everything from her family life, her divorce, her separation, and her struggles with attention deficit disorder. For fans of Laura James (Cool Camping), Jennifer Cook O'Toole (Autism in Heels), Shappi Khorsandi (Scatter Brain), Anita A. Lesko (Temple Grandin), and Samantha Craft (Everyday Aspergers). HarperCollins 2023