I really loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers.
It hit me right at a time when I needed it, and made me feel that change might actually be ok.
At my age, this has happened more times than I care to admit. With some people, it’s like no time passed at all, and everything is great.
With others, it has become very evident why we lost touch.
I haven’t discovered a way of seeing who is what type without just trying to reconnect and seeing what happens.
I just got back from two days at a giant conference. Every year I go, and my dream is to join in the community that it is a part of, and every year I come back, having talked to no one at all.
I can plan things to say, and then just shut down when the opportunity comes. I can also plan too far and figure that I won't have anything more to say after the initial contact, so why bother?
I've read various books on social anxiety and the old "How to win friends", but I just don't feel like they're helpful. Does anyone know of any resources that take autism and selective mutism into consideration?