Kathy Lette pioneered smart, funny fiction with a frivolous edge (and a feminist flavour). In 2012’s The Boy Who Fell to Earth, Lette’s character Lucy has more to manage than most: she’s trying to rejuvenate her long-wilted love life while raising her adorable-but-challenging autistic son. Told in Kathy’s irascible style, with her signature wit and warmth, this novel springs from emotional truth: Kathy, too, has an autistic son.

In this video, Kathy unleashes her hyperactive wit and talks fiction, humour and autism with Monica Dux.