Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Different, Not Less: A Neurodivergent's Guide to Embracing Your True Self and Finding Your Happily Ever After

“Autism is not a linear spectrum; it is not a singular line where one end is a little bit autistic and the other is very autistic. Instead, the autism spectrum is more like a colour wheel, in which every colour represents a different strength, a different struggle, a different identity, but all of the colours are autism. Every autistic person is their own, individual, different colour code. No colour is more or less colourful than another colour— they are all equally important parts of the palette.”

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noonanjohnc's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

3.75

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saskia_ej's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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emilyb023's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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rat_girly's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

I am a fan of Chloé so I wanted to love this, but unfortunately I didn’t! The structure was a bit all over the place and tricky to follow, and the fairytale analogy wasn’t really working for me. The self-help sections were a bit simplistic for me, but I loved hearing about Chloé’s story. I think this book would be really well suited to young teens looking to learn more about (their own or others’) neurodivergence. I will say that this book focuses mainly on autism and ADHD - there is not a lot about other forms of neurodivergence.

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clovetra's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

2.0

i need to preface this entire review by saying i love chloe hayden!!! ive been following her online since 2020, and i adore what shes done for the autistic community & in general her attitude to life!!! i also need to note that i am also autistic, so my experience reading this book may be vastly different to someone neurotypical reading this book, but obv i don't speak for other autistics' opinion on this book.
now, i wish i could say i liked this more.
2 stars seems incredibly harsh but it feels a bit wrong for me to bump it up a star as i didn't enjoy reading this if im honest, it began to feel like a chore. and i think that might be due to the fact im autistic.
i found this book to be quite educational, and honestly, this is my bad but i thought this was moreso a memoir rather than a self-help book, so my expectations were shot going into this ill admit. but i don't know hearing about how shit my life and the lives of other autistics' are was upsetting! i don't say this as a bad thing, i say this purely to explain my rating.
i think this was a beautiful book and honestly i would recommend this to everyone i know ever. but, for me it was not a good fit, a) because i know a lot about autism simply because psychology is my special interest, and b) it made me feel bad for myself? i don't doubt this was NOT hayden's intention, but seeing her succeed in life kinda idk.... made me sad i didn't get any support for my autism as a kid! sure maybe i masked too much so i fell through the cracks, but i kind of felt like "oh, this is what my life could've been like if i got support! yeah sure i'd still be autistic but hey at least i would be able to cope better and idk experience more of life" whilst reading this. i wouldn't even call it jealousy or envy, i would say it was eye-opening in ways i wish it wasn't.
this review is nothing negative on hayden's book. i love chloe and she could do (almost) no wrong in my eyes. she is my aspiration in life. but i don't know this book put a lot in perspective for me that kind of made me depressed.
also, this is solely because im a dumbass, but i went in expecting more memoir aspects, and i was disappointed it was more a self-help book. like when chloe was talking about her experience at the titanic museums i was enjoying it quite a lot! i think the self-help aspect caused a lot of introspection i wasn't ready and looking for, which i think is the whole reason my enjoyment level was so low.
yet again i do like this book i just didn't have a good time </3
chloe hayden if you somehow see this i did love this book i am so sorry

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fatfrog's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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