If you’ve ever felt brilliant, sensitive, quirky or a bit alien on Earth… you’re in the right place.
Full Throttle & Torque
My Alien Roadtrip
A thrivival guide for brilliant, sensitive, slightly quirky humans - and the people who lead, love or work with them.
This isn’t a book about fixing yourself.
It’s a book about finally understanding the parts of you that never needed fixing.
Why This Book Exists
For most of my life, I’ve felt like an alien visiting Earth without an instruction manual. Brilliant but baffled. Sensitive but strategic. Quirky, curious, over-feeling, overthinking, forever scanning the room to work out what everyone else seemed to understand instinctively.
Maybe you know that feeling too — the sense that you’re both “too much” and “not quite right”, depending on the day and the company.
This book is the one I wish I’d had decades ago.
Not a survival guide - a thrivival guide.
It’s part memoir, part roadmap, part slightly rebellious love letter to every human who’s ever felt different in a world that prizes sameness. And it’s for the people around us too - the leaders, partners, colleagues and carers who genuinely want to understand how we’re wired, but don’t always know where to start.
If you’ve ever wondered why you think the way you do…
or why someone you care about does…
you’re in the right place.
Why I wrote this book — and why it matters now.
Before you dive in, I want to share a little of my journey with you.
This video captures the real story behind Full Throttle & Torque — the moments that shaped me, the messy middle, the discoveries, and the fierce hope that sits at the heart of this book. It’s about belonging, identity, difference, leadership, and what happens when we stop contorting ourselves into shapes that please everyone
but ourselves.
Watch this first.
It will give you the compass for everything that follows.
Who This Book Is For
For the brilliant, sensitive, slightly quirky humans
If you’ve spent your life feeling “a bit different” — deeper, more intuitive, more easily overwhelmed, more observant, more everything - this book is for you.
It’s for the ones who:
sense things others miss
feel the world intensely
think sideways, not in straight lines
have big hearts and big minds
don’t always fit into the boxes offered to them
This isn’t a diagnostic label.
It’s a shared experience — a way of being in the world that deserves understanding, celebration and space to thrive.
If you’ve been told you’re too much, or not enough, or “a bit of an alien”… you will feel right at home here.
For the leaders, colleagues, partners and carers who support them
Some of the most brilliant humans on your team or in your life are wired differently - not broken, not difficult, not too much, not less, simply different.
This book will help you:
understand how deep-feeling, deep-thinking humans operate
recognise the strengths they bring (and why they’re often overlooked)
create environments where they can thrive, not burn out
communicate with more insight and compassion
see intensity, sensitivity and creativity as assets, not liabilities
Whether you lead people, love people or raise people, this book gives you a framework for understanding humans who move through the world in beautiful, unconventional ways.
What This Book Gives You
A language for your lived experience
Words for things you’ve felt your whole life but never quite articulated.
A reframing of your wiring
From “hard work to fit in” → to “permission to be who you are.”
Stories that make you feel seen
Because sometimes one person’s truth unlocks another person’s self-understanding.
Practical insights for navigating work, life and relationships
Not prescriptive, not heavy — just grounded, gentle guidance for moving through the world with more clarity.
A deeper understanding of the humans around you
Especially the ones who don’t think or feel in the “standard” way.
A fresh lens for inclusive leadership
Because the workplace of the future needs emotionally intelligent, neuro-inclusive cultures — and this book shows you what that can look like.
A sense of belonging
For anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, an alien, or a delightful misfit.
Inside the Book
Here’s a small taste of what you’ll find inside Full Throttle & Torque:
Why difference is not a flaw - and why the world needs the way you think.
The alien roadtrip - and how it shaped everything that came after.
Thrivival, not survival - learning to live at full throttle without burning out.
Identity, belonging and self-trust - a new framework for understanding yourself.
The emotional mechanics of brilliant humans - and why intensity is a strength.
How to lead, support and understand differently-wired people
Stories from the messy middle - the moments that changed my life.
And yes, you’ll probably laugh, cry, recognise yourself, and recognise someone you care about.
About Gry
Gry Stene is an author, speaker and tech whisperer who has spent her life navigating the world as a brilliant, sensitive, slightly quirky human - long before she had words for it.
A global leader in human-first technology, Gry blends decades of experience across digital transformation, leadership, UX, community building and inclusion.
She champions spaces where diverse thinkers, deep feelers and unconventional humans can thrive.
Born in Norway, shaped in Botswana, England, Australia, and connected to humans everywhere, Gry writes and speaks with warmth, rebellion, humour and fierce compassion.
Full Throttle & Torque is her most personal - and most important - work yet.
Get Your Copy
Signed copies are available in Australia, the UK and Norway.
Each one is personally signed by Gry before she heads overseas. Limited quantities available.
Choose your region:
🇳🇴 Norway
Delivered in Norway - NOK 380
(Signed copy posted anywhere in Norway. Shipping included.)
Event or Local Pickup Only - NOK 300
(Collect at Gry’s events or designated pickup locations in Sarpsborg.)
❌ Only choose this option if you can pick it up. Teleportation not included.
Available to customers in Norway only. Pickup and delivery options are limited to Norwegian addresses.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Delivered in the UK - GBP 26
(Signed copy posted anywhere in United Kingdom. Shipping included.)
Event or Local Pickup Only - GBP 20
(Collect at Gry’s events or designated pickup location in Burnley.)
❌ Only choose this option if you can pick it up. Teleportation not included.
Available to customers in United Kingdom only. Pickup and delivery options are limited to UK addresses.
🇦🇺 Australia
Delivered in Australia - AUD 45
(Signed copy posted anywhere in Australia. Shipping included.)
Event or Local Pickup Only - AUD 35
(Collect at Gry’s events or designated pickup locations in Fremantle / Sydney.)
❌ Only choose this option if you can pick it up. Teleportation not included.
Available to customers in Australia only. Pickup and delivery options are limited to Australian addresses.
For Readers Everywhere Else 🌍
If you live outside Australia, the UK or Norway, you can order the unsigned edition via Amazon:
These copies are not signed and are printed/delivered through Amazon’s distribution network.
For the brilliant, sensitive, slightly quirky humans who’ve felt like too much, not enough, or just not quite right...
...and for the allies who believe in their magic.
You’re not broken — you’re brilliant.
This isn’t just a book. It’s a thrivival guide for showing up fully, leading differently, and creating the kind of impact only you can.
What’s Inside:
Stories from the road — both literal and metaphorical.
Insights from Gry Stene, a human–AI storytelling collaboration.
Practical tools for owning your visibility, leading with heart, and creating ripple effects of change.