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Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You―A Paradigm-Shifting Study of Women With ADHD, Autism and More Paperback – February 16, 2021

4.5 out of 5 stars 1,753 ratings

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AUDIBLE EDITOR'S PICK

The bestselling, paradigm-shifting study of neurodivergent women—those with ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, and sensory processing disorder—exploring why these traits are overlooked in women and how society benefits from allowing their unique strengths to flourish.

As a successful Harvard and Berkeley-educated writer, entrepreneur, and devoted mother, Jenara Nerenberg was shocked to discover that her “symptoms”--only ever labeled as anxiety-- were considered autistic and ADHD. Being a journalist, she dove into the research and uncovered neurodiversity—a framework that moves away from pathologizing “abnormal” versus “normal” brains and instead recognizes the vast diversity of our mental makeups. When it comes to women, sensory processing differences are often overlooked, masked, or mistaken for something else entirely. Nerenberg explores these topics in depth, delving into:

  • Flawed systems that focus on diagnosing younger, male populations.
  • How people assigned female at birth are conditioned to blend in and conform to gender expectations, and how women often don’t learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all.
  • The impact of millions living with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed neurodivergences, and how the misidentification leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and shame.
  • Practical solutions for neurodivergent people to thrive, not just survive.

Divergent Mind is the much-needed answer for women who have a deep sense that they are “different.” Sharing real stories from women with high sensitivity, ADHD, autism, misophonia, dyslexia, SPD, and more, Nerenberg explores how these brain variances present differently in women and dispels widely-held misconceptions (for example, it’s not that autistic people lack sensitivity and empathy, they have an overwhelming excess of it). Nerenberg offers us a path forward, describing changes in how we communicate, how we design our surroundings, and how we can better support divergent minds. When we allow our wide variety of brain makeups to flourish, we create a better tomorrow for us all.

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Editorial Reviews

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"Every woman who struggles to flourish in our one-size-fits-all society should read this book." — Susan Cain, author of Quiet

“Divergent Mind explores powerful and positive ways to understand our fundamental differences. Its focus on women is much needed and timely. The book de-pathologizes those of us who most profoundly and intensely think and feel the world around us. I found it to be eye-opening and healing.” — Mary Pipher, New York Times bestselling author of Women Rowing North and Reviving Ophelia

"American psychiatry has increasingly taught our society to think that people can be divided into two categories: those who are 'normal' and those who are 'not normal.' In Divergent Mind, Jenara Nerenberg powerfully writes of an urgent need to scrap that way of thinking, and replace it with a societal appreciation for the many gifts that people with divergent minds bring to our world. Hers is a clarion call for change." — Robert Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of Anatomy of an Epidemic and Mad in America 

This book is powerful, much-needed for our times, and Jenara Nerenberg offers a unique blend of personal, scientific, and societal analysis. Divergent Mind is really for all women, giving them the chance to understand each others’ invisible differences and gifts.” — Elaine Aron, PhD, bestselling author of The Highly Sensitive Person

“What is ‘normal’? Who gets to decide? Jenara Nerenberg’s wide-ranging Divergent Mind asks and answers these and other essential questions, offering a vision for how individuals and society can take better advantage of the many ways in which we are human.”  — Louise Aronson, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life

“This wonderfully positive and accessible introduction to the neurodiversity paradigm is packed with life-changing insight for anyone whose way of experiencing the world diverges from the ordinary.”  — Nick Walker, PhD, autistic neurodiversity scholar and aikido teacher

“Empowering…. This important book not only advocates for research and innovation; it demonstrates the power of acceptance, kindness, and the celebration of differences.”  — Booklist

“An extraordinary, jaw-dropping take on a topic with which many women will identify.” — Library Journal STARRED review 

About the Author

Jenara Nerenberg lectures widely on neuroscience, innovation, sensitivity, leadership, and diversity. Selected as a “brave new idea” presenter by the Aspen Institute for her work on re-framing mental differences, Jenara is also the founder and host of The Neurodiversity Project. She holds degrees from the Harvard School of Public Health and UC Berkeley. Her work has been featured in Fast Company, New York magazine, Susan Cain’s Quiet Revolution, Garrison Institute, Elaine Aron’s HSP, Healthline, and on KQED, and elsewhere. In addition to her work as a journalist, Jenara is a frequent workshop facilitator, speaker, and event host for institutions, including the Stanford Graduate School of Business and others in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperOne; Reprint edition (February 16, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062876805
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062876805
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.58 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,753 ratings

About the author

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Jenara Nerenberg
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Jenara Nerenberg grew up in San Francisco and lectures widely on the future of psychology, empathy and neurodiversity, sensitivity, neuroscience research, design, leadership, and reframing media narratives and is the founder of The Neurodiversity Project. After leaving her performing arts high school at the age of 16, she graduated from UC Berkeley and the Harvard School of Public Health and was later selected as a “brave new idea” presenter by the Aspen Institute for her work on reframing mental differences. Her favorite activity is the one-on-one interview -- with NYTimes bestselling authors she hosts for live events or with homeless women and men she grew up talking with and serving at the Glide Memorial Health Clinic.

Jenara publishes widely on topics ranging from mental health to suburban life to gender bias and belonging and community. She lived in Asia for six years and began her journalism career there with CNN. Her interviews have appeared in Fast Company, New York Magazine, and Susan Cain’s Quiet Revolution, as well as the Garrison Institute, the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center, and KQED.

Jenara is also a frequent event host, workshop facilitator, and speaker for institutions including the Stanford Graduate School of Business, OZY Media, the Tahirih Justice Center, and Park Day School. Learn more at divergentlit.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,753 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides valuable insights into neurodiversity, with one customer noting how it empowers women to understand these conditions. Moreover, the book is readable and thought-provoking, with one customer describing it as an extended article. Additionally, customers appreciate its visual quality, with one review highlighting its excellent in-depth look at the subject matter.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

55 customers mention "Insight"50 positive5 negative

Customers appreciate the book's valuable insights into neurodiversity, particularly through its exploration of various research projects, and find the content thought-provoking.

"This book has so much information about neurodivergence in females ...." Read more

"...in a World that Wasn't Designed for You was a very easy read and super informative! When I get a lot of..." Read more

"...This book beautifully articulates relationships among discoveries in neuroscience, autism, psychiatry/neutropics, psychology, and therapy research..." Read more

"...This compelling book crystallizes many years of valuable research by its author resulting in an excellent in-depth look at what has sadly remained a..." Read more

50 customers mention "Readability"42 positive8 negative

Customers find the book readable and interesting, with one mentioning it reads like an extended article.

"Absolutely love this book!..." Read more

"...on the autism spectrum, and you are biologically female, this is a great book to help you think about that." Read more

"...Mind: Thriving in a World that Wasn't Designed for You was a very easy read and super informative! When I get a lot of..." Read more

"...It is a great read...." Read more

5 customers mention "Thought process"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the thought process of the book, with one mentioning it is relatable, another noting it is written in a very human way, and a third describing it as good for emotional well-being.

"...I relate to the author in a very human way, not clinical by any means." Read more

"...finished with this book but so far it’s amazing and so so so relatable for me...." Read more

"...and trying to wedge my way into this community, thank you for this thoughtful and intentional book and to all those researchers, doctors and other..." Read more

"...There are so many ways of thinking, feeling, and being, and this book does a wonderful job of showing that we all have a place in, and way to..." Read more

4 customers mention "Visual quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the visual presentation of the book, with one noting it provides an excellent in-depth look, while another mentions feeling seen through the content.

"...many years of valuable research by its author resulting in an excellent in-depth look at what has sadly remained a less understood and studied area..." Read more

"...ways of thinking, feeling, and being, and this book does a wonderful job of showing that we all have a place in, and way to contribute to, our..." Read more

"...Neurodivergent nto consideration. Jenara does a beautiful job of sharing her own story alongside her research...." Read more

"I feel seen...." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2025
    Absolutely love this book! As a 42-yr old woman, just recently discovering the possibility of being Autistic I found this book to be extremely helpful in clearing some of the fine lines. I relate to the author in a very human way, not clinical by any means.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2025
    If you’ve ever wondered if you might be somewhere on the autism spectrum, and you are biologically female, this is a great book to help you think about that.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2024
    This book has so much information about neurodivergence in females . I love that it reminds us that neurodivergent people may have similarities but each person is still unique. I love that it speaks of if everyone could just be more accepting of others differences the world would be a better place. It is packed full of education and ways to help.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2024
    Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World that Wasn't Designed for You was a very easy read and super informative! When I get a lot of
    Information like I did in this book that resonates with me, I always have more questions.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2025
    In a family full of ADHDers, we have all been reading this and doing a virtal sort of book club. It is a great read. IN addition to neurodivergency in general (different types), the reader will learn a lot about women and girls are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed sometimes until later in life. In women, this can show up in different ways that have far reaching lifelong impact. As a therapist, I think that is important for women and men alike to understand this. Men who are neurodiverse may not feel so alone when they realize how neurodivergency is showing up around them in the other sex. I would recommend this to anyone really. 20% of people are neurodiverse. It's time to stop thinking of it as a mental health disorder and about how fascinating the human brain is and how we all have brains that process information differently. The faster society catches up, our culture will open up which is necessary for employers and all institutions to realize the value that neurodivert individuals brings to organizations and really to anywhere.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024
    What did I like/disklike?
    Liked: cutting edge research and journalism; considers capitalism, white-supremacy, and patriarchy as external agonists; focuses on depatholoziging language
    Disliked: can be a bit of a laborious read considering some areas required me to stop the book and do research on other things to understand the paragraphs better, but that's more of a learning/developmental challenge for me than it really has to do with the book itself and still comes out a total positive.

    Who would I recc to?
    Anyone looking to expand their knowledge on why people are the way they are, how to better understand themselves or the people they live with, and become more passionate and understanding to how certain behaviors may appear in themselves and others because of the world around us.

    Why did I choose rating?
    This book beautifully articulates relationships among discoveries in neuroscience, autism, psychiatry/neutropics, psychology, and therapy research to make a solid case for changing how we organize our views of the human mind, condition, and manifestation of behaviors; instead of by exclusively pathologizing the person, but by also acknowledging a major role the pathology of the environment they are in plays to their condition.
    37 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2022
    TL;DR - This book was okay for the first half explaining 'symptoms', but honestly didn't provide anything helpful in regards to actually living successfully in a neurotypical world. Was disappointed.
    ---
    Helpful in describing the different levels of neurodiversity and how different medical labels can overlap (Autism, ADHD, etc.) - but doesn't actually tell you how to successfully "thrive in a world that wasn't designed for you" as the title refers to... which is the main reason I bought the book. It only helped me better identify with being neurodivergent with high sensitivity.

    Filled with too much background of people and companies I don't care about, because it wasn't helpful. I scanned ahead most sections towards the end because my ADHD self was getting bored and frustrated. In the 'Home' and 'Work' sections of the book, it's bloated with stories of other people who wrote their own books/papers coming to terms with their diagnosis and how learning so helped them flourish; or applauding companies building better environments for their neurodivergent workers.. but doesn't tell YOU, the reader, how to actually make your home and work life better. There's only a tiny sub-chapter in Home with a few bullet points like "make your room a calming color, add plants, add relaxing lighting, etc.". Then at the end of the Work chapter, it only has tips for a boss/leader of a workplace to help accept more nuerodivergent workers. I want to know as the reader, how can I approach MY boss to get accommodations without being alienated/judged? What tips can I follow to find a job that best suits me? How can I find a career that fits how my brain works? I'll have to look elsewhere for those types of tips and life guides.
    283 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Timothy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Book on Neurodiversity
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2025
    Amazing, awesome - BRILLIANT book.
  • KW
    5.0 out of 5 stars incredibly liberating
    Reviewed in Japan on June 17, 2022
    As a recently diagnosed 26 year old woman with ADHD and autism, this book beautifully articulated my experience of feeling misunderstood and misfit throughout my life. It gave me the vocabulary I need to move forward with my newly named identify and hope it does the same for so many more sensitive neurodivergent women around the world.
  • Claudia M.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Generic, impractical, limited to the privileged, problematic at times
    Reviewed in Germany on July 5, 2023
    I give this book generous three stars. It's more of 2.5 stars, to be honest. It's a very mediocre book.

    The studies are not "paradigm shifting", they are generic, and all the research is superficially mentioned. The interviews focus on super-successful people, and the language is generically positive, with lots of "superpower" talk without much acknowledgment of the challenges experienced by various divergent women that don't fit the uber-successful profile. It seems to be a book geared towards convincing people that ND women are good (we know that, honey), like a wannabe life coach or a women's magazine article full of platitudes.

    I didn't need "affirming", I needed strategies. I didn't get that.

    Side note: Unqualified author (she's a journalist who does not identify as ND, just as "having ND struggles". Instead of seeking a diagnosis (despite being able to), the author chose to "investigate through the stories of those that felt like her"). Besides this, the author never acknowledges her privilege nor seeks voices different from her own. She uses the term "ASPERGERS" repeatedly, and talks about "Highly Sensitive Person" as if it was an actual diagnosis. Why this book is being given more traction than the voices of actual ND women is beyond me. My guess is the author has better connections than the unprivileged voices that would have actually written useful books.
  • SongsMoon
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best resources out there for neurodivergent women
    Reviewed in Australia on April 16, 2020
    This book is my big recommendation specifically for neurodivergent women (and those who love them/want to comprehend them better)- the author is the brilliant Jenara Nerenberg, a woman whose passion and interests in the areas covered in this book were largely stimulated by her own desire to understand herself and which eventually led her to creating The Neurodiversity Project, a fabulous resource and research lab exploring many elements of neurodiversity (including giftedness, synesthesia, the very different traits of female autistics that have gone largely unrecognised because of male dominated focus, just to name a few).

    I *love* this book, even as it confronts and enrages me at times; the history of females and the psychiatric 'profession' (cue Lilith type raging at patriarchal medical industry abuse/crap yet again); it's powerful knowledge and information in a world that even now continually seeks to minimise and silence female, diverse and neurodivergent voices. I love learning how to nurture and evolve my very different mind and Self. <3

    This book deserves to be in every feminist library that is truly focused on empowering ALL women, not just some. I cannot recommend it enough! I was shamed so much for my own synesthesia as a child that I learned to shut it off- it's only in the last 6 years or so that I have been working to open it back up again, and sometimes now I can taste and feel the textures of colours and scent again, see the colours of scent and texture- there are a lot of combinations that happen. I don't see music as ribbons of colour though, bummer, although some sounds and music have textures, scent and taste. This book has given me the inspiration to begin finding my own authentic, powerful, unapologetic and nourishing way in an neurotypical world that frequently chooses to dismiss me as a freak.
  • Hanna Alexander
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good read!!
    Reviewed in Sweden on October 24, 2024
    Enjoyed this book so much I started reading it again.