"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."
Empowering…. This important book not only advocates for research and innovation; it demonstrates the power of acceptance, kindness, and the celebration of differences.”
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.”
“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.
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.”
Empowering…. This important book not only advocates for research and innovation; it demonstrates the power of acceptance, kindness, and the celebration of differences.”
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
Empowering…. This important book not only advocates for research and innovation; it demonstrates the power of acceptance, kindness, and the celebration of differences.”
★ 12/01/2019
Aimed specifically at women who feel "different," this accomplished first book from Nerenberg (founder, the Neurodiversity Project) defines and investigates HSP, or the highly sensitive person, delving into the subject of sensory overload in order to reconstruct sensitivity within the framework of neurodiversity. The author argues that women with neurological conditions have been widely overlooked, misdiagnosed, and undertreated, as studies of autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and sensory processing disorder have been predominantly conducted with male participants. In accessible, incisively written chapters, Nerenberg explores the HSP personality and draws on its positive traits both at home and at work, welcoming women with these differences to a community they never knew existed, while designating a roadmap for designing one's life in ways that support and enhance the strengths of the "divergent" mind. VERDICT An extraordinary, jaw-dropping take on a topic with which many women will identify. Of special interest to those in the human resources, counseling, and education fields.—Virginia Johnson, John Curtis P.L., Hanover, MA
