Six months on from diagnosis: sending love to little autistic me

April is Autism Awareness Month: a time to celebrate and honour the experiences and identities of autistic folks worldwide. So it feels very timely to share some thoughts about my journey of late diagnosis at 32.

ThoughtsSarah Rose-CherryApril 26, 2025Girlhood, Family, Mental health, Neurodivergence

This is what grief feels like

Grief can jolt you unexpectedly. It’s in the quiver of words left unspoken; words you play and replay in your head.

Here I share my thoughts on grief in its many forms. I explore my recent lived experiences with death, loss, heartbreak, mental illness, and neurodivergence.

ThoughtsSarah Rose-CherryMarch 2, 2025Grief, Love, Mental health, Neurodivergence

Letters to Georgia

‘Letters to Georgia’ (2022) is a queer short story about first love, family, and childhood trauma. It was published in Let Go – Stories From The Clarence Valley 2022.

Anthology, Short story, BookSarah Rose-CherryMarch 1, 2025Love, Family, Girlhood, Trauma, Queerness

Once, I Was Lily

‘Once, I Was Lily’ is a short story about a young girl battling for control of her own mind. It was published by Deakin University as part of The Other Side digital anthology, B3-4 Publishing, May 2021.

Short story, Anthology, JournalSarah Rose-CherryJuly 4, 2021Mental health, Queerness, Relationships, Trauma

she / he / they. you (I / we)

‘she / he / they. you ( I / we)’ is an experimental poem about queer bodies, emotional scars, and the struggle against heteronormative expectations in relationships and sex. It was published in Leaf Pile, a digital zine collaboration between Baby Teeth Journal and EnbyLife (2020).

Zine, Journal, PoetrySarah Rose-CherryMarch 21, 2021Relationships, Bisexuality, Queerness

Dust

‘Dust’ is a free verse poem about friendship grief. It was featured in Baby Teeth Journal, a Wollongong-based digital arts journal, November 2020.

Journal, Free verse, PoetrySarah Rose-CherryNovember 27, 2020Friendship, Grief

Island Girl, Unwritten

‘Island Girl, Unwritten’ is a queer Australian Young Adult (Aus YA) short story about family and finding home. It was published in To The Island 2019 – Stories From The Clarence Valley edited by Erin Brady and Claire Aman.

Anthology, Short story, BookSarah Rose-CherryJanuary 31, 2020Aus YA, Family, Love, Queerness

At least the title is optimistic

‘At least the title is optimistic’ is a grisly collection of poems about the intersections between female bodies, eco-anxiety, and overpopulation. The poems were published in Baby Teeth Journal’s first-ever print anthology, Never Heard Of Them (2019).

Poetry, Free verse, AnthologySarah Rose-CherryDecember 18, 2019Environment, Gender, Family

she is

‘she is’ is a free verse poem about girlhood, growing up, and dealing with childhood trauma. It was featured in Baby Teeth Journal, a Wollongong-based digital arts journal, July 2019.

Poetry, Journal, Free verseSarah Rose-CherryJuly 31, 2019Girlhood, Mental health, Trauma

Soul Place

‘Soul Place’ is an Australian Young Adult (Aus YA) short story about female friendships, first love, and growing up bisexual in an idyllic coastal town. It was published in The Long Way Home 2018 – Stories from the Clarence Valley, edited by Erin Brady and Claire Aman.

Short story, Anthology, BookSarah Rose-CherryJanuary 31, 2019Bisexuality, Aus YA, Friendship, Home

in-between words

'in-between words' is a free verse poem about the liminal spaces of bisexuality and fluid sexual attraction. It was published in the University of Wollongong’s Tertangala – Gender and Sexuality Issue, October 2018.

Poetry, Free verse, MagazineSarah Rose-CherryOctober 31, 2018Bisexuality