Divergent Mind

Jenara Nerenberg is an international journalist and author of the groundbreaking and bestselling Divergent Mind. With a background in political theory and public health, she synthesizes micro and macro trends to uncover nuanced layers underlying modern social relations. She grew up in San Francisco, left high school at sixteen, attended community college, and made her way to Berkeley and Harvard. From there she launched a journalism career in Asia, corresponding on a freelance basis for CNN and Fast Company, with pieces in TIME, NPR and elsewhere. She speaks regularly at institutions, libraries, and companies around the world, from Stanford to the Aspen Institute and elsewhere.

"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&#8220What 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“Empowering…. This important book not only advocates for research and innovation; it demonstrates the power of acceptance, kindness, and the celebration of differences.”  — Booklist&#8220Divergent 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&#8220This 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“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“An extraordinary, jaw-dropping take on a topic with which many women will identify.” — Library Journal STARRED review“Jenara Nerenberg brings to light the experiences of a ‘lost genera- tion’ of neurodivergent women whose wisdom has been occluded behind a fog of diagnostic labels and overly male-centric research. Divergent Mind is a signpost to a future in which the diversity of human wiring is celebrated while barriers to access are eliminated.” — Steve Silberman, New York Times bestselling author of NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity"Every woman who struggles to flourish in our one-size-fits-all society should read this book." — Susan Cain, author of Quiet