A Conversation with Emily Barth Isler About Her Award Winning Novel, AfterMath, And Neurodivergent Characters in Media.
04/14/23 • 28 min
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In this episode of Neuroversity, Jessica Kidwell interviews Emily Barth Isler, a former child actress and writer for YA short stories and plays as well as a sustainable beauty journalist. Emily also has OCD and synesthesia. In this first of a two episode conversation, Emily and Jessica discuss Emily's award-winning debut novel Aftermath which explores themes of loss, mental health, gun control and neurodiversity. They also discuss the inclusion of neurodivergent characters in media, Emily's journey of writing the novel, and her experience talking to kids affected by the book.
Key moments:
00:10:03 Starting conversations on trauma.
00:16:29 Parents cannot protect kids from news.
00:21:04 The character Lucy as a neurodivergent archetype.
00:24:01 How diversity benefits all audiences.
More about Emily Barth Isler:
A writer, Middle Grade Fiction Author, and sustainability/beauty journalist, Emily is a former child actress who has performed all over the world in theatre, film, and TV. She spent several years in New York writing episodic television for the web with Emmy-award winning PhoebeTV, and a lifetime writing YA short stories and plays.
Emily holds a B.A. in Film Studies from Wesleyan University, where she took all the creative writing classes she could find, including one which was taught by none other than Lemony Snicket himself! Her debut novel, AfterMath, came out in September 2021, and her work as a Beauty Editor/Writer can be seen online in many publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
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Send me a Text Message about the show!
In this episode of Neuroversity, Jessica Kidwell interviews Emily Barth Isler, a former child actress and writer for YA short stories and plays as well as a sustainable beauty journalist. Emily also has OCD and synesthesia. In this first of a two episode conversation, Emily and Jessica discuss Emily's award-winning debut novel Aftermath which explores themes of loss, mental health, gun control and neurodiversity. They also discuss the inclusion of neurodivergent characters in media, Emily's journey of writing the novel, and her experience talking to kids affected by the book.
Key moments:
00:10:03 Starting conversations on trauma.
00:16:29 Parents cannot protect kids from news.
00:21:04 The character Lucy as a neurodivergent archetype.
00:24:01 How diversity benefits all audiences.
More about Emily Barth Isler:
A writer, Middle Grade Fiction Author, and sustainability/beauty journalist, Emily is a former child actress who has performed all over the world in theatre, film, and TV. She spent several years in New York writing episodic television for the web with Emmy-award winning PhoebeTV, and a lifetime writing YA short stories and plays.
Emily holds a B.A. in Film Studies from Wesleyan University, where she took all the creative writing classes she could find, including one which was taught by none other than Lemony Snicket himself! Her debut novel, AfterMath, came out in September 2021, and her work as a Beauty Editor/Writer can be seen online in many publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
Follow Neuroversity on all our social platforms:
Neuroversity Website
IG
Facebook
Twitter
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Previous Episode
"It's Already Autism Awareness Month Again?": An Encore Episode from S1
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It’s April, which means Autism Awareness Month. And April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. So I thought it would be a great time to re-visit episode 22 from Season 1, where I talk ALL about the complicated feelings this month can bring. There is a lot of background and history surrounding this month-and this episode was my attempt to learn a little about at it all.
On this episode you will learn:
- The history of Autism Awareness Month and World Autism Awareness Day
- Reasons why Autism Speaks does not necessarily "speak" for the majority of autistic voices
- Ways you can better support the goals of autism awareness month
- Why acceptance is more important than awareness
Links to sources cited in this episode:
UN World Autism Awareness Day 2023
https://www.un.org/en/observances/autism-day
Moving from awareness to acceptance article by Emily Willingham
History on Autism Awareness Month and Autism Speaks
https://www.verywellhealth.com/should-you-celebrate-autism-awareness-month-4134347
Autism Speaks Board of Directors
https://www.autismspeaks.org/board-directors
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) link to Autism Acceptance Month:
The Autism Society:
https://autismsociety.org/who-we-are/
Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism:
https://thinkingautismguide.com/
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Next Episode
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Conversation With Award Winning Author, Emily Barth Isler
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In this episode of Neuroversity, host Jessica Kidwell interviews Emily Barth
Isler, a writer and sustainability beauty journalist who has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and synesthesia. They discuss Emily's experience with OCD before and after diagnosis, how she structures her life to live in partnership with OCD, and her neurodivergent identity under the neurodiversity umbrella. It is the second of two episodes featuring Emily's insights.
Highlights:
[00:01:59] Understanding Neurodivergence.
[00:03:58] OCD and creativity.
[00:08:37] Writing about painful experiences.
[00:12:15] OCD and anxiety coexisting.
[00:18:38] Living with OCD.
[00:22:08] Neurodiversity in younger generations.
[00:25:06] OCD as a gift.
Follow Neuroversity on all our social platforms:
Neuroversity Website
IG
Facebook
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Neuroversity - A Conversation with Emily Barth Isler About Her Award Winning Novel, AfterMath, And Neurodivergent Characters in Media.
Transcript
I'm Jessica Kidwell and this is Neuroversity, a space to expand our understanding and knowledge about neurodiversity and to elevate neurodivergent voices and experiences. Today I am joined by Emily Barth Eisler, writer, middle grade fiction author, and sustainability beauty journalist. A former child actress, she performed all over the world in theater, film, and tv. She spent several years in New York writing episodic television for the web with Emmy award-winning Ph
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