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mallard_duck 's review for:
Neuroróżnorodne. Jak żyć w świecie skrojonym nie na naszą miarę
by Jenara Nerenberg
for years, that one "either people with adhd need to stop being so relatable or I need to go to a doctor" tumblr post had been living rent free in my head (and was probably one of my most shared reaction pics). you'll NEVER guess what happened when I finally did go to a doctor about it.
so, yeah, the past few months I've really been re-thinking my entire life through the lens of hey, you're actually someone with audhd, who would have thought. (not my parents, or any of my teachers, or several psychotherapists, apparently). turning to books that focus on the experience of other women/afab folks who got diagnosed late in life was a natural progression.
my first reflection was to say that I didn't really learn anything new from this book, but that's not true. since nerenberg focuses on neurodivergent women who also experience high sensitivity (a focus that, in her defense, is explicitly mentioned in the foreword), and she spends a whole chapter explaining the meaning of that term, I learned that it's yet another thing I should look into, lol. even though (or maybe especially because of that?) my mental image of myself is that of someone not particularly sensitive.
then again, I also never thought I could be autistic, until my psychiatrist said yeah sounds like autism to me after literally one conversation. so maybe my judgment could use some improvement here.
anyway, if it wasn't for the above, nerenberg's book would have been an easy, but ultimately net zero information kind of read for me. it's quite short for the vastness of the topic it aims to cover (235 pages in the polish translation, not counting the honorable mentions and the list of - admittedly somewhat scant - sources at the end), so it should come as no surprise that it's also very surface level. it's the kind of book I'd recommend to my mom, who has no clue what to think about her adult daughter getting an audhd diagnosis because she has no idea what audhd could mean outside of the pop culture view of loud boys who are unable to stay in one place, or to someone who's only vaguely suspecting that she's neurodivergent to serve as a starting point. personally, I'm early enough in the process of rediscovering myself from this perspective that the validation I got from this book outweighed its general lack of deep dives, but it certainly won't be the case for everyone, since nerenberg leaves a lot of issues unaddressed - especially from the intersection of neurodivergence and race, class, and/or sexuality (a lot of her tips are rooted in the assumption that the reader has access to and can afford nd-oriented therapy, is able to change jobs or homes fairly easily, has the ability to be open about their neurodivergence in the workplace without repercussions etc.). still, 3/5 for "it was ok" for me.
so, yeah, the past few months I've really been re-thinking my entire life through the lens of hey, you're actually someone with audhd, who would have thought. (not my parents, or any of my teachers, or several psychotherapists, apparently). turning to books that focus on the experience of other women/afab folks who got diagnosed late in life was a natural progression.
my first reflection was to say that I didn't really learn anything new from this book, but that's not true. since nerenberg focuses on neurodivergent women who also experience high sensitivity (a focus that, in her defense, is explicitly mentioned in the foreword), and she spends a whole chapter explaining the meaning of that term, I learned that it's yet another thing I should look into, lol. even though (or maybe especially because of that?) my mental image of myself is that of someone not particularly sensitive.
then again, I also never thought I could be autistic, until my psychiatrist said yeah sounds like autism to me after literally one conversation. so maybe my judgment could use some improvement here.
anyway, if it wasn't for the above, nerenberg's book would have been an easy, but ultimately net zero information kind of read for me. it's quite short for the vastness of the topic it aims to cover (235 pages in the polish translation, not counting the honorable mentions and the list of - admittedly somewhat scant - sources at the end), so it should come as no surprise that it's also very surface level. it's the kind of book I'd recommend to my mom, who has no clue what to think about her adult daughter getting an audhd diagnosis because she has no idea what audhd could mean outside of the pop culture view of loud boys who are unable to stay in one place, or to someone who's only vaguely suspecting that she's neurodivergent to serve as a starting point. personally, I'm early enough in the process of rediscovering myself from this perspective that the validation I got from this book outweighed its general lack of deep dives, but it certainly won't be the case for everyone, since nerenberg leaves a lot of issues unaddressed - especially from the intersection of neurodivergence and race, class, and/or sexuality (a lot of her tips are rooted in the assumption that the reader has access to and can afford nd-oriented therapy, is able to change jobs or homes fairly easily, has the ability to be open about their neurodivergence in the workplace without repercussions etc.). still, 3/5 for "it was ok" for me.