Did you know it’s better not to use song lyrics as an epigraph in a book? You’re usually allowed to quote small parts of a text – that’s called the right of quotation – but the quote has to serve a purpose, not just be there for decoration, which makes an epigraph a bit questionable. So when I wanted to include a line from a Taylor Swift song in Autastisch leven, and preferably not have Ms. Billionaire’s legal team come after me, I had to come up with a creative workaround. An easter egg, to stay in Swiftie terms.

I decided to only mention the song title and the timestamps.

For a moment I thought no one had noticed, or bothered to look it up. When Jennifer tagged me in her post yesterday, and I reshared it, my sound was off. It’s pretty much always off. I was out thrift shopping with Maan and feeling a bit overstimulated, so I hit the share button without really looking.

This morning I was being photographed for a newspaper. Because Charlotte and the photographer were going to be at my door, I had – for once – turned my sound on. So when I had to scroll through my phone for the photoshoot and opened my stories, I heard it. Jennifer had added exactly that part of the song to her story.

Tears.

And you know what the best part is? That I can include the quote here. And discuss it. Because now it’s anything but decoration. Buckle up, because here comes a piece of literary analysis your English teacher would be proud of.

You’re On Your Own, Kid is a song by Taylor Swift that I first heard in a Starbucks in Japan. I often felt lonely there, but the song turns that loneliness into something beautiful. The first verses are about unrequited love and the pursuit of a career in music, where Swift gradually realizes she’s on her own. By the end of the song, she reframes it: she may be alone, but she can do this. And apparently, she always could. Being alone is no longer a sad fate – it’s also freedom.

The quote in my book corresponds to the passage below. A part that, especially in the first weeks after discovering the song, brought tears to my eyes.

The overlap with my own life is obvious. I, too, burned bridges, changed course, lost relationships and friendships – but each time, I also moved forward. And there’s a more literal reading as well. “Pages turned” can refer quite literally to the pages of a book – my decision to self-publish this one and, in doing so, part ways with my publisher. (“Bridges burned” might be a bit dramatic, since there’s no bad blood; I still work with them on my earlier books and the Prikkelplanner.)

Swift encourages the listener to live in the moment and enjoy it. Her fans are known for the friendship bracelets they exchange at concerts, featuring lyrics and other references to the Taylor fandom. You don’t have to be afraid, she says. You can do this. It’s exactly what I want to tell my readers – and, in a way, myself. Autastisch leven is an invitation to autistic readers to go out and live their best lives, just as Taylor tells her fans – and herself.

Anyway, that’s that. Oh and, happy Easter.