A late-diagnosed autistic woman who spent an eventful few decades in mental-health services has been identified at last as a comedy writer, readers of her debut book, All My Worldly Joy, have discovered.
The Daily Tism writer, Laura Richmond, 38, had never considered the possibility that she might be funny, partly due to outdated stereotypes and gender bias in comedy diagnosis, but finally found the answers she was looking for after fellow people with hilariousism read her new memoir, All My Worldly Joy.
Richmond commented: “There was also the fact that people don’t tend to laugh at my jokes. Sometimes when I’m joking, people think I’m in earnest, and other times, the room just goes very quiet and I notice people slowly edging further away. It is, however, impossible to edge away from me in book form. Of course, you could always edge away from the book – but I won’t know about that, so ha!”
Diagnosing clinician Dr. Sara Gibbs, 38, explained: “After reading a review copy of All My Worldly Joy, I knew I had to befriend Laura. Was it easy explaining to her that her heartfelt, moving and important memoir about mental health and childbirth trauma was actually fucking hysterical? No. But someone had to break the news to her.”
Since her diagnosis as an official class clown, Richmond has joined the The Daily Tism‘s writing team, where her pieces having included one about having an imaginary horse, another about sentient mugs, and one about an autistic woman boring the ever-living fuck out of everyone by relentlessly questioning her own diagnosis. She is keen to stress that these are all works of fiction, bearing no relation to any real individual past, present, or future, unless you related to them, in which case, you should buy her book.
Laura’s memoir, All My Worldly Joy, is available to buy in bookshops and online from eighth January 2026. The memoir, harrowing and heartwarming in equal measure, chronicles Laura’s seemingly endless odyssey in the mental-health system, before the birth of her son sparked a sequence of events that would change everything. Laura recounts her journey with stunning, light-on-its-feet prose and a sense of humour that will have you falling in love with her, rooting for her and ultimately punching the air.
Intimate and compelling, All My Worldly Joy is a story of self-discovery and profound love. It tells how one woman’s life has been transformed through the thousand tiny joys her son brings every day. It’s the perfect read for autistic folks who have been through the ordeal of psychiatric care with no answers, for people who have given birth and for anyone who’s ever felt like a square peg in a round hole.
