Reading time: About 1 minute
I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from Fern Brady….
Fern Brady is a Scottish comedian, podcaster and writer. She achieved fame as a stand-up comedian at venues like the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Brady was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum in 2021. She has been active within the field of autism education since learning of her diagnosis.
In her 2023 memoir, Strong Female Character, Brady recounts her life as an undiagnosed autistic woman, navigating challenges including family misunderstandings, mental health struggles, and societal pressures. The book is a candid and often amusing exploration of her experiences, from her youth as a solitary and misunderstood child to her later years in sex work and comedy.
Through her book, Brady addresses the intersection of autism, sexism, and class, offering a powerful and relatable account of resilience and self-discovery. She also displays some tremendous — and often funny — figurative language. Here are my favourite examples:
- This was standard Scottish Catholic parenting: children were not the longed-for IVF children of the middle-aged middle class — pampered investments that you needed to see a return on — but something dealt to you in life that you just had to cope with, like a caner or a chronic illness.”
- Toodaloo approached piety like they say Pope Benedict XVI did, like God’s Rottweiler, continually making big belligerent pronouncements on the state of the world.
- My maternal grandmother was more like a normal granny in that she openly loved me and wasn’t repulsed at the thought of showing me affection. She was way harder to read, though, and could only communicate her displeasure through a series of throat-clearings, tuts and clicks that social anthropologist would be interested in studying.
- My flatmates sprang into action to comfort me. Lauren opened a bottle of Prosecco and rushed it towards me like a paramedic with IV fluids.
