Wear your truth. Stories that heal. Tools that guide.
BORN IN THE WRONG CHAIR
A Neurodivergent Journey to Truth, Healing, and Action
Every copy supports NDWA. Every pledge fuels Zulni.THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK
I grew up on the outskirts of Paris, between cultures, expectations and identities that never fit neatly into one box.
Long before I had language for neurodivergence, I understood what it felt like to experience the world differently - intensely, creatively, and sometimes painfully.
That tension between who I was and who I thought I was supposed to be would follow me through school, work, relationships, boxing, creativity and eventually entrepreneurship.
Born in the Wrong Chair grew from the moment I stopped trying to fit the wrong environment and started asking a different question: what if the problem was never the person; but the chair?
ROOTS. COLOR. IDENTITY.
My French-Caribbean identity is inseparable from the way I see the world.
Martinique my mother’s island gave me an instinct for color, nature, contrast and expression. Paris gave me density, culture and contradiction. Together, they shaped the visual language behind French With Attitude and the way I learned to understand identity itself.
What began as self-expression through clothing eventually became something larger: a way to turn difference into language, creativity and connection.
Years later, late understanding of my own neurodivergence gave many of those experiences a name. But a diagnosis alone did not create change. Awareness had to become action.
Why This Book Exists
Born in the Wrong Chair is not just a memoir. It is a blueprint for anyone who has ever felt different, misunderstood, or unseen. I grew up caught between cultures, expectations, and diagnoses that never seemed to explain who I really was. From childhood struggles and late-diagnosed neurodivergence to addiction, boxing rings, and boardrooms, this book tells my story of survival, discovery, and transformation.
Through that journey, I uncovered what I now call The Three Stages of Awareness: Knowing, Awareness, Acting.
A framework that helps people move from confusion to clarity, from paralysis to purposeful action. This method is woven through the book, giving readers not just my story, but tools to reflect on and transform their own.
What’s Inside
Real Stories → moments of chaos, resilience, and self-discovery told without filters.
A Practical Framework → The Three Stages of Awareness: a step-by-step guide to recognizing truth, building self-awareness, and taking action.
Accessible Insights → clear, compassionate explanations of neurodivergence, drawn from lived experience and supported by research.
Tools & Reflections → journaling prompts, exercises, and practices to help readers ground the lessons in their own lives.
This book is for:
The child who feels “different.”
The parent who doesn’t understand but wants to.
The adult who still asks, “Why am I like this?”
And for anyone who believes that change begins when we tell the truth about who we are.
From Chapter One
I was always smiling. It wasn’t a performance. It wasn’t a strategy. It was simply my face, this light, this involuntary beacon I carried into classrooms, family dinners, the streets and spaces of my childhood. I didn’t know it would one day feel like a liability, a flaw, a reason for people to question me, reject me, or worse, dismiss me entirely. I didn’t know it would become evidence against me.
When I was eight, my teacher stopped mid-lesson and called me out in front of the class.
“Why are you always smiling? What’s so funny?”
Her voice sliced the air. Everyone turned. I froze.
My smile faded. My insides dropped. I wasn’t laughing at anyone. I wasn’t mocking anyone. I just had that look, a look that said, “I want to be here, even if I don’t understand everything.”
In French, we have a phrase: être à côté de la plaque; off-base, out of sync. I didn’t realize until much later how this dissonance, this subtle mismatch between what I felt and what the world perceived, was shaping every corner of my childhood.
More Than a Book
Every copy of Born in the Wrong Chair supports the mission of Neurodivergent With Attitude (NDWA), a nonprofit I founded to create adaptive fashion, technology such as Zulni, and education tools for the neurodivergent community. When you read this book, you’re not just reading my story, you’re joining a movement that’s building tangible solutions for the future.
Read the Story. Join the Movement. Fund the Future
Purchase Born in the Wrong Chair and become part of the community reshaping how we see, support, and celebrate neurodivergence.
ABOUT FABIEN WILLIAM AUGER
Fabien William Auger is a French-Caribbean author, entrepreneur, coach, and founder of Neurodivergent With Attitude (NDWA). Born outside Paris and shaped by his Martinican heritage, he writes about identity, neurodivergence, resilience, and the work of turning self-awareness into action.
His debut book, Born in the Wrong Chair, blends memoir with a practical framework the Three Stages of Awareness: Knowing, Awareness, Acting. Across his writing, creative work, and advocacy, Fabien explores one central idea: we can stop forcing ourselves into environments that do not fit and begin building lives that do.
Every copy supports NDWA. Every pledge fuels Zulni.Launch Edition Still Available With Author Signature
Celebrate the debut of Born in the Wrong Chair