Nick Walker has been part of the neurodiversity movement for the last couple of decades, and knows people who were there at the beginning when autistic people started meeting and building culture online. However, with this being one of the first academic texts on these topics, I would have hoped it would be a little less… lecture-y.

The chapter does raise the good core point that neurodiverse should not be used as shorthand for autistic (in the same way that diverse should not be used as shorthand for black, for example). This book also goes on to explain concepts like neurocosmopolitan and Neuroqueer in ways that people can understand.As an academic/theoretical book, it can come across as a bit abstract, pedantic, and dry for those (like me) who prefer more interweaving of narrative.

This book has MANY typos—mostly just missing words that made me reread several sentences multiple times. Her expansive definition of what it means to engage in "neuroqueering," and to "be neuroqueer," is refreshing. It provides foundational definitions of key concepts like "neurodivergent," "neurotypical," "pathology paradigm," "neurodiversity paradigm," etc.

Neuroqueer Heresies provides hope—even a demand—of a more liberating future for Autistic and neurodivergent people. Over the course of many years Nick Walker has meticulously documented the origins and semantics of the evolving language that is co-created within autistic culture. If this makes you uncomfortable, it is worth persistence and engaging in self-reflection as you read further. This is a book by an autistic thinker, theorist, and activist who has played a key role in shaping the language and frameworks at the the core of the neurodiversity movement. I loved the part about how disability should be looked at from the lens of society’s inability to accommodate neurodivergent people.