Barrettes in the Mud: A Story in Poems and Pieces is a lyrical exploration of poems, stories, and letters from acclaimed advocate and writer Tiffany Hammond. With honesty, Hammond explores the intersections of autism, Blackness, motherhood, and identity.

The pages share two voices, Tiffany’s and her public persona, Fidgets and Fries. This memoir invites readers into the complexities of living as a Black Autistic woman and raising two sons on the spectrum. Hammond’s writing is intentionally accessible, with open space and short, powerful lines that honor neurodivergent readers and anyone overwhelmed by dense text.

Barrettes in the Mud is not a traditional memoir. It is a journey through wandering, mourning, wounding, unraveling, feeling, and mending. Throughout this collection, she pens a world full of joy and struggle, fragmentation and wholeness, the weight and wonder of Blackness, memory and becoming.

Perfect for readers of memoir, poetry, disability advocacy, and those seeking authentic stories of intersectionality and belonging, this book is a love letter to those learning to hold all their identities at once—and to those still searching for community and self-acceptance.