Could Try Harder

Could Try Harder is a deeply moving and necessary book that captures what so many autistic girls experience but cannot always articulate. Eliza Fricker gives voice to the quiet struggle of feeling “not quite right” in a world that misunderstands you. This book will change how we understand “trying harder”… for good – Dr Olivia Kessel, host of the SEND Parenting Podcast, and author of ‘Beyond the Label’I’ve loved Eliza’s work for so long and this book honestly made me emotional in a way I wasn’t expecting. It captures that constant pressure to try harder, to get it right, to be “acceptable”… and the quiet shame so many of us carry. It brought me straight back to being a teenager (and my experience sometimes now!) masking all day, then everything coming out at home. Trying to navigate friendships, not understanding social rules, ending up in situations that were “meant to be fun” but just felt confusing… I’d really recommend it for anyone supporting young people. And for teenagers, I honestly wish I had this. It’s such a confusing time and this book really shows how vulnerable neurodivergent teens can be… Eliza just tells the truth. And that’s exactly what we need – Sorcha Rice, AuDHD senior occupational therapist with a PDA profileEliza Fricker’s new book Could Try Harder is one I wish my parents, my teachers and my younger self had been handed. It sees neurodivergent young people for who they actually are, not who the system wants them to be… If your school reports said, “could try harder” and you’re now late-discovered AuDHD, this book is going to find the part of you that still flinches at those words… Go and buy it. Read it. Pass it on – Alice Bramhill, interpersonal psychotherapist

Eliza Fricker is an illustrator and author whose deceptively simple illustrations give way to endearingly perceptive and detailed observations, which are often irreverently humorous and highly emotional. She writes about autism and education with beautiful artistic expression of difference in today’s society. Her work serves as a thought provoking and valuable contribution to visibility, acceptance and support. Her publications act as a way to communicate difficult circumstances with teachers, educators, social workers, other parents and friends of those also experiencing these issues, with the hope of providing a drop more humanity in the world. She is the author, co-author and illustrator of several popular books including her graphic memoir Can’t Not Won’t, which was a Sunday Times bestseller.

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