4. Autumn

Dara and family prepare for the new term, but they manage to spend some sunny days out before school, and autumn, begin.

These vivid and moving diary entries about Dara’s connection to wildlife, and the way he sees the world, are raw in their telling and urgent in their message.

They communicate his intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as a teenager juggling exams and trying to build friendships alongside a life of campaigning.

“I was diagnosed with Asperger’s/autism aged five. By age seven I knew I was very different, I had got used to the isolation, my inability to break through into the world of talking about football or Minecraft was not tolerated. Then came the bullying. Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system.”

Written and read by Dara McAnulty.

Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed.

Producer: Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2020.