This is a short book review and I will confess straight away that I have never read a book quite like it. The author is refreshingly honest about their own lived experience and their multiple divergence. The author was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD as a child and bipolar as an adult along with borderline personality disorder.

The author grew up hating themselves and believing that they were a problem that needed fixing. They also felt they were undeserving of love and kindness because they were different. The book goes on to tell of how the author began to accept their lot in life and began to feel deserving of love through the acceptance of the term ‘neurodivergent’. The author wants the ‘neurodiversity paradigm’ to be accepted and understood rather than ‘Pathology Paradigm’. The author’s greatest wish is for people to know they are included under the neurodivergent umbrella, they are not broken or disordered and they need to be more accepting of themselves.

The book contains a section on key definitions. This is a vital section with so many new words and phrases around and its jolly useful to have a ‘go to’ chapter to hand. Chapter 3 concentrates on the Neurodiversity Movement. There is also a history on some of the most important movements leading up to it to aid with understanding how we have reached our current position. The book goes into great detail about these movements and I was amazed about how little I actually knew. I thought I had a reasonable knowledge of the evolving movements and was quite shocked to find I was wrong.

Another chapter goes on to talk about the Pathology paradigm. I found this section interesting as it gives a context to the rest of the book. Without this this part readers like myself wouldn’t understand the need for a paradigm shift. Again, throughout the chapter there are clear explanations for the terms and definitions used.

On the whole the book is extremely readable. When I first opened it I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t understand the terminology or the thoughts and concepts behind the writing. However, the author has made it interesting and easy to read. They have a good understanding of what others might struggle with and go to painstaking lengths to address those issues. An example of this is seen in the Neurodivergent umbella diagram. You will find this on page 82 so do have a look at the author’s non exhaustive list of neurodivergences.

At the start I said the author was honest. Having been through the book in some detail I can say that they really are. They talk about their own issues and how they faced them. They explain in detail that they are fighting to be seen not as someone with a disorder but as someone who is neurodivergent. If I had to pick one line from the whole book that really spoke to me it would be this one:

‘There is no such thing as normal because normal is a social construct’.

This line really sums up the book for me. The author has done a top job on this book and has explained some tricky concepts. I would recommend this book to anyone who requires a deeper understanding of neurodiversity and I would recommend it purely for interest.

The author is Sonny Jane Wise (Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers)