Title: Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World
Author: Sy Montgomery
Narrator: Meredith Mitchell
Length: 2 hours and 48 mins
Temple Grandin is a woman who changed the world of livestock industry. She advocated for better conditions for livestock animals and humane ways to kill them. She is also an advocate for autism and shows how autistic people can contribute to society.
I first learned about Temple in college and I remember watching a short documentary on her work. I picked this up because I saw it was a short biography of her life and it was available through the Audible Plus catalog. While a short biography, this is still a very well written and informative book. We learn about her childhood, her abusive father, and how she struggled to understand language and facial expressions.
Her work with livestock is fascinating. I loved how she was able to see the animal and could figure out what was panicking them. She really has a wonderful view of the world that allows her to understand animals. Another wonderful thing that I learned about in this book, was that Temple refused to be limited by gender norms. She did woodwork, built things around the farm, and did experiments to understand why things are the way they were. She never let anyone prevent her from doing what she wanted to do.
Overall, while this is a short audiobook, it is very informative and a great start at learning about this amazing woman. Also, not only is this a good book about how she revolutionized the livestock industry, but it is also a very informative look at autism and what it is like to grow up with it.
Trigger Warnings: animal abuse and death, use of the word r*tard, toxic parent, threats of being sent to an insane asylum.
Red-Haired Ash Reads 