by Abigail Balfe
5 stars
I absolutely loved this book.
Part memoir, part life skills guide, part entertainment, part art book, and part educational resource. This book has a nice mix of everything.
At its base, A Different Kind of Normal tells about Balfe’s life growing up feeling different from others. However, it goes much further. It confronts stereotypes and misinformation about autism. It also shows the ways autism intersects with other identities such as gender and sexuality. It covers many topics such as struggles in school, experiences making friends, overwhelming sensory input, masking, puberty, meltdowns and shutdowns, special interests, and loving yourself.
Adorable illustrations. Hilarious yet informative writing. Balfe does an excellent job educating her readers on how she sees, exists in, and experiences the world.
At times the narration does wander onto other topics, but in doing so it felt very natural and conversational. I love that Balfe wrote her book in a way the shows her thought processes and communication style.
This is such a great memoir and I love how accessible it is. Highly visual with easy-to-understand language, examples, and explanations. It includes breakout sections with various definitions related to neurodivergence, gender, and sexuality; corrects myths about autism; and provides additional resources at the back such as a glossary of terms. Throughout are helpful strategies for both neurodivergent and neurotypical people such as how to help someone during sensory overload, how to react if someone is being bullied, and general tips for navigating the neurotypical world.
This book is funny and sweet, cute and enlightening, heartbreaking and frustrating, and remarkably heartfelt. Such a wonderful resource. Plus, it has a ton of cat doodles.