
Divergent Mind
Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed For You
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Narrated by:
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Tegan Ashton Cohan
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By:
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Jenara Nerenberg
A 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. Between a flawed system that focuses on diagnosing younger, male populations, and the fact that girls are conditioned from a young age to blend in and conform to gender expectations, women often don't learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all. As a result, potentially millions live with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed neurodivergences, and the misidentification leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and shame. Meanwhile, we all miss out on the gifts their neurodivergent minds have to offer.
Divergent Mind is a long-overdue, 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 also offers us a path forward, describing practical 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.
©2020 Jenara Nerenberg (P)2020 HarperAudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Editor's Pick
A welcome alternative to pathologizing difference
"I consider myself quite privileged to know—and love—several people living on the autism spectrum. Growing up in a household that championed the neurodivergent, I learned from an early age to value diversity and difference in neurological function. In fact, far from being damaged or broken, those with atypical sensory processing abilities are in many ways endowed with unique, paradigm-shifting perspectives and proficiencies. In Divergent Mind, author and activist Jenara Nerenberg unpacks this emerging reevaluation of neurological variability, focusing in particular on how women are routinely underdiagnosed with conditions such as high sensitivity, ADHD, misophonia, dyslexia, and autism. In sharing her own story and breaking down common misconceptions regarding neurodivergent minds, Nerenberg gives listeners a roadmap for constructing a world that works for everyone, built on a supportive framework that shuns shame and stereotype. Coupled with the guiding, measured narration of Tegan Ashton Cohan, this listen challenges the notion of "normal," instead providing an argument for understanding and acceptance that’s long overdue." —Alanna M., Audible Editor
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Cried so many times, how pathetic I have felt every time I walk into a supermarket literally brain dead!
It was the first book I read on neurodivergency and I have not stopped since...
My daughter's diagnosis followed and I am now specialised in Aspergers' Females Neuroscience Coaching
I realised as I was getting my coaching certification that other coaches could not hold space for me - no matter how much they tried. This was my line in the sand moment and I niched out because we need space
Step 1. To know
Step 2. To get diagnosed
Step 3. To learn or relearn all our quirks and put them into perspective
Step 4. To relive our life
Step 5. So as to live the future fully with total understanding of whom we are!
I discovered that a particular reaction of mine gave me this response from the neurotypicals 'Stop being so selfish!', 'You spoilt brat...' became for me 'OMG can't you see I'm having a meltdown here!' and thus I had labelled it (Step 1...) Can you imagine how my recovery, personal development and coaching grew exponentially in a fraction of a millisecond?!!
So yes this book put me on the path to discover all this and I love it totally...
Thank you for your amazing work Jenara Nerenberg
Catherine Guimard-Payen
Allows New Perspectives and Life!
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Radicalizing
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no words
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Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Jenara Nerenberg.
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So helpful and reassuring!
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Insightful. absolutely relatable
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Excellent, excellent, excellent!
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Eye Opening
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Gender biases help nobody
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Very informative! Sharing...
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