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freesouthjersey's review against another edition
3.0
Really interesting perspective. I agree with some of the other reviews that note:
1) the chapters of straight memoir (near the end) were most compelling
2) earlier chapters felt disjointed, lacking a narrative arc. I saw a suggestion that they might have been speeches and that actually helps clarify why they felt so “off” as book chapters
3) I laughed out loud several times because her analogies are good. But more than that, there were things I recognized in her writing - she really nailed some of the specifics of neurodiversity so well
The author mentions a few of her other books that seem more practical “how-to” type publications and I look forward to reading them. I suspect they’ll be more satisfying and suit her writing style much better.
1) the chapters of straight memoir (near the end) were most compelling
2) earlier chapters felt disjointed, lacking a narrative arc. I saw a suggestion that they might have been speeches and that actually helps clarify why they felt so “off” as book chapters
3) I laughed out loud several times because her analogies are good. But more than that, there were things I recognized in her writing - she really nailed some of the specifics of neurodiversity so well
The author mentions a few of her other books that seem more practical “how-to” type publications and I look forward to reading them. I suspect they’ll be more satisfying and suit her writing style much better.
femmecheng's review against another edition
2.0
I simply did not like this book. I read it three nights in a row to make me sleepy (it worked!).
The author writes like this. Where each sentence isn't a grammatically correct sentence. Which is odd. Because she says she's "geektastic for grammar". Could have fooled me. But you can imagine reading a book written like this is kind of obnoxious. For ~250 pages no less!
Ok, I'll stop. I was interested in this book because I'm aware of how autism diagnosis criteria is based largely on criteria far more applicable to men on the spectrum, which is really medical history 101 playing out in real time. This means that women who are on the spectrum often aren't identified as such, and this can cause problems when it comes to getting help, validation, etc. I know this book is a memoir, but I guess I thought it would have discussed this concept more than it does given the title (which also irks me, but alas). Instead, it's kind of not-like-other-girls-adjacent. The author also talks a lot about certain times in her life that are heavily implied to be significant, but I just don't see it.
The author writes like this. Where each sentence isn't a grammatically correct sentence. Which is odd. Because she says she's "geektastic for grammar". Could have fooled me. But you can imagine reading a book written like this is kind of obnoxious. For ~250 pages no less!
Ok, I'll stop. I was interested in this book because I'm aware of how autism diagnosis criteria is based largely on criteria far more applicable to men on the spectrum, which is really medical history 101 playing out in real time. This means that women who are on the spectrum often aren't identified as such, and this can cause problems when it comes to getting help, validation, etc. I know this book is a memoir, but I guess I thought it would have discussed this concept more than it does given the title (which also irks me, but alas). Instead, it's kind of not-like-other-girls-adjacent. The author also talks a lot about certain times in her life that are heavily implied to be significant, but I just don't see it.
djinnc2m's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Very helpful to someone who’s afab and recently discovered she’s autistic
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Excrement, Grief, and Sexual harassment
megant713's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed reading Jenny's recount of her experiences throughout her life as an undiagnosed Autistic woman until her early 30s. This hits close to home, as someone who also just recently was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. Many of Jenny's experiences are similar to my own, and I'm loving learning more about the female Autistic experience as this hasn't yet been well explored. Would highly recommend if you're hoping to get another perspective on female Autism and what that might look like throughout the years as someone moves from childhood to adulthood.
cassiereads42's review against another edition
5.0
My copy of this book is now tabbed and highlighted so heavily it looks like I might have read it for a college course and then wrote an essay diving deep into the authors words.
It’s the book that I will lovingly hand the next woman in my life who gets her late diagnosis.
It’s the book I will find phrases in for years to come in an attempt to explain my brain and how it works.
It’s the book that I will fall asleep to as I graze over the highlighted pages looking for the comfort within.
See…the book knows who I am. From the first pages to the last I cried. It’s almost as if the book had been written BY me. But alas, it was not.
I reached out to the lovely author and received an email video response from her. She is so special and loving and caring. She truly cares for other autistics and it came through in her book—and I want to be that same way. I want to wear my autism fearlessly, because up until I got that book, I had been so full of fear that nobody truly knew who I was. Nobody really spent time with me. They spent time with my version of who I wanted to be, to make them happy.
And now I present to you—my fully autistic self. The same woman who came out within those pages as I read them like others before me. My pride and my confidence grew as my highlighter slowly and carefully slid over each letter that I wanted to accentuate.
If you’re autistic and female presenting—read this.
If you’re the loved one or friend or boss or co-worker to an autistic person—read this.
It’s the book that I will lovingly hand the next woman in my life who gets her late diagnosis.
It’s the book I will find phrases in for years to come in an attempt to explain my brain and how it works.
It’s the book that I will fall asleep to as I graze over the highlighted pages looking for the comfort within.
See…the book knows who I am. From the first pages to the last I cried. It’s almost as if the book had been written BY me. But alas, it was not.
I reached out to the lovely author and received an email video response from her. She is so special and loving and caring. She truly cares for other autistics and it came through in her book—and I want to be that same way. I want to wear my autism fearlessly, because up until I got that book, I had been so full of fear that nobody truly knew who I was. Nobody really spent time with me. They spent time with my version of who I wanted to be, to make them happy.
And now I present to you—my fully autistic self. The same woman who came out within those pages as I read them like others before me. My pride and my confidence grew as my highlighter slowly and carefully slid over each letter that I wanted to accentuate.
If you’re autistic and female presenting—read this.
If you’re the loved one or friend or boss or co-worker to an autistic person—read this.
maryk8's review against another edition
4.0
My daughter has just been diagnosed with autism as an adult, so I found this book very interesting. I found many similarities between the author's experiences and my own life. She would often explain things that usually seem odd to most people, but I thought that sounded like our life. This book gave me a greater insight into how my daughter interacts with the non-neural divergent world. Hopefully, this book will raise awareness and help more people find answers to the reasons that they perceive things differently, not incorrectly, but just differently.
chermarie0123's review against another edition
4.0
I’m really not sure how to feel about this book. It fluctuated in form between being a memoir and being informational, and I think it would have worked better if the author had focused on only one thing or the other. It would have felt more cohesive to me that way. While I totally get her meandering way of narrating stories and sharing information (as someone who has ADHD myself) I feel like an editor could have tightened this up and straightened it all out a bit better.
I bought the book both in paperback and in audiobook format, and I think that listening to the audio version improved the overall experience significantly. The author is a public speaker, and when read aloud, the meandering text felt more like listening to an enjoyable TED talk. The book felt much more suited to being spoken aloud than being read on a page, and it made me wonder if the book was compiled from the author’s previous speeches (and like I already mentioned, perhaps just needed some extra editing attention).
Many of the other issues people had with the book felt like they came down to editing issues as well. Just a couple of examples: Her inappropriate use of Sojourner Truth’s words could have been caught by a sensitivity reader. Her tone that sometimes came off as arrogant could have been softened by a line editor. She freely admits many times that her autism keeps her from realizing her social missteps, so I don’t hold these things against her. But I do think it’s unfortunate that they weren’t fixed, as they seem to be detracting from her message for many reviewers.
For myself personally, while I was frequently confused by all the jumping around in the timeline of the memoir portions, I still very much enjoyed this book and am so glad I read it because it is the first time I have really seen myself and my experiences represented in a book. And with such compassion and hope and beauty, no less.
All other things aside, the author’s goal in writing the book was to help other women see where they fit on the spectrum, and that much she did so very successfully!
I bought the book both in paperback and in audiobook format, and I think that listening to the audio version improved the overall experience significantly. The author is a public speaker, and when read aloud, the meandering text felt more like listening to an enjoyable TED talk. The book felt much more suited to being spoken aloud than being read on a page, and it made me wonder if the book was compiled from the author’s previous speeches (and like I already mentioned, perhaps just needed some extra editing attention).
Many of the other issues people had with the book felt like they came down to editing issues as well. Just a couple of examples: Her inappropriate use of Sojourner Truth’s words could have been caught by a sensitivity reader. Her tone that sometimes came off as arrogant could have been softened by a line editor. She freely admits many times that her autism keeps her from realizing her social missteps, so I don’t hold these things against her. But I do think it’s unfortunate that they weren’t fixed, as they seem to be detracting from her message for many reviewers.
For myself personally, while I was frequently confused by all the jumping around in the timeline of the memoir portions, I still very much enjoyed this book and am so glad I read it because it is the first time I have really seen myself and my experiences represented in a book. And with such compassion and hope and beauty, no less.
All other things aside, the author’s goal in writing the book was to help other women see where they fit on the spectrum, and that much she did so very successfully!