08/26/2026
Book Study: A Little Less Broken: How an Autism Diagnosis Finally Made Me Whole by Marian Schembari
Join us to discuss the incredible memoir, A Little Less Broken. One womanโs decades-long journey to a diagnosis of autism, and the barriers that keep too many neurodivergent people from knowing their true selves. Marian Schembari was thirty-four years old when she learned she was autistic. By then, sheโd spent decades hiding her tics and shutting down in public, wondering why she couldnโt just act like everyone else. Therapists told her she had Touretteโs syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sensory processing disorder, social anxiety, and recurrent depression. They prescribed breathing techniques and gratitude journaling. Nothing helped. It wasnโt until years later that she finally learned the she wasnโt weird or deficient or moody or sensitive or broken. She was autistic. Today, more people than ever are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Testing improvements have made it easier to identify neurodivergence, especially among women and girls who spent decades dismissed by everyone from parents to doctors, and misled by gender-biased research. A diagnosis can end the cycle of shame and invisibility, but only if it can be found. In this deeply personal and researched memoir, Schembariโs journey takes her from the mountains of New Zealand to the tech offices of San Francisco, from her first love to her first child, all with unflinching honesty and good humor. A Little Less Broken breaks down the barriers that leave women in the dark about their own bodies, and reveals what it truly means to embrace our differences.
The first 20 registrants from our 14 county catchment area* will receive the book for free.
Wednesdays
December 02, 2026 | Prologue through chapter 6
December 09, 2026 | Chapter 7 through 13
December 16, 2026 | Chapter 14 through 20
6:00 โ 7:30PM
Online
Details and registration: https://card.ufl.edu/2026/06/12/book-study-a-little-less-broken/
