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

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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anjh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

5.0

if only i’d read this book when i was a child or teenager who was autistic but just didn’t know it yet because of the stupid stereotypical ableist portrayal of autism in the media - usually as highly unempathetic straight white men who have special interests in science, maths and trains (a bit of a generalisation, but the media portrayal of autism still has a long way to go).

chloé hayden is so welcoming, accepting and calming and her writing is exactly the same with the addition of humour. this book is both informative from a general perspective and individual perspective with UP TO DATE statistics and information written from an autistic/ADHD perspective, by an autistic/ADHD author and it isn’t often you find something like that. there were so many parts in this that i could relate to and made me feel so seen and heard.

this book really puts the idea out that whatever you’re into, whoever you are, whatever your story is, you matter just as much as anyone else and you are loved just as much as anyone else and any unique parts of your identity (i.e., seemingly “obscure” interests, etc) are nothing to be ashamed of and nothing short of something that makes you human and that is beautiful.

i love you chloé.

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amiiliy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective

3.5

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peachani's review against another edition

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informative inspiring fast-paced

4.75

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Hands down one of the best books ever, as well as one of the best ND resources I've consumed. I felt very seen and reminded that I'm worthy of good things. I definitely will be forcing all of my ND friends to read this.

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madelinequinne's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

A beautifully written account of like as an autistic woman and all the wonderful and not so wonderful things that come with it. I adore Chloé’s writing voice, it’s so personal and you can really feel her passion and love for what she’s doing in this book. I highly recommend for all autistic people who need proof that it’s possible for us to have wonderful lives, and for all neurotypicals to learn what life as an autistic person is really like, and how to support us best

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