Sharing real stories from women with high sensitivity, ADHD, autism, misophonia, dyslexia, SPD, and more, Nerenberg explores how these brain variances present differently in women and describes practical changes in how we communicate, how we design our surroundings, and how we can better support divergent minds. I was also extremely confused about the focus on 'sensitivity' as if that was the only qualifier for being neurodivergent. It contains a lot of suggestions that are probably very helpful for autistic people who do work "normal" jobs, for making their workspace more comfortable.

While some of the earlier chapters in the book gave helpful definitions for different neurodivergencies, I recommend looking into other sources like, you know, Google and Instagram for the same exact information that’s most likely presented in a less privileged manner.

Reads as an extremely out of touch hr manual which is especially jarring considering how much passion the author clearly has for the topic.

Since the book is about Gender and neurodivergence, I don't expect a deep dive on Race and ADHD/Autism however given how recently this work was published I find the sparse mentioning of race to be inadequate. Divergent Mind is really for all women, giving them the chance to understand each others’ invisible differences and gifts. This was a quick read and I’m glad to have come across it because it has opened my mind to more awareness and really gave me quite a few personal “ah ha! As a result, potentially millions live with undiagnosed neuro-divergences, obscured by anxiety and depression.I really found this enlightening; this is, in some ways, the successor to Susan Cain's "Quiet", the book about introversion. I picked this up because as an autistic woman, I'm always looking for new books about neurodiversity, but I was honestly quite disappointed. It ends up feeling really "White Feminist" to spend so much time speaking about gender and gender alone. Worth the read but may make you crave for a deeper dive of a book which hopefully is on the way from Jenara or other authors.

Between a flawed system that focuses on younger, male populations, and the fact that girls are conditioned from a young age to blend in, women often don’t learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all.

For a book published in 2020, you'd think that the author would realize that "Asperger's" is outdated, or at least mention it (or it's historical connotations). This book focuses on the sensory-sensitivity that is a common theme across multiple neurodivergences, and which I'm just beginning to appreciate as a major component of WHY I find certain environments stressful or overwhelming. This book is geared towards late-diagnosed autistic women who are able to have a "normal" job, given sufficient sensory and social accommodations. Divergent Mind is a long-overdue, much-needed answer for women who have a deep sense that they are “different. I kept reading in hopes that the author might criticize the idea of productivity as one that harms disabled people whether they're like me or not, but such criticism never came.