Novelist Kathy Lette draws on her personal experience of Asperger’s for her heartwarming and hilarious new novel The Boy Who Fell to Earth. It is the story of a mother, Lucy, her autistic son Merlin, and Lucy’s attempts to return to dating some years after husband Jeremy left her and Merlin in the lurch. Things do not go to plan, and then Jeremy arrives back on the scene begging for forgiveness.

Lette has won acclaim for her comic novels and the way they speak directly to women. Her 10 titles have been published in 14 languages. Lette’s many TV appearances include ones on Loose Women, BBC Breakfast, Newsnight and Sky News. She is also a regular on BBC Radio 4. Here she talks to literary journalist and broadcaster David Freeman.