Neurodivergent Book Lover’s Gift Guide

We’re big readers over here at Neurodiverging, and we especially love checking out books by and for neurodivergent people. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or a loved one this holiday, I have some recommendations for books you can add to your gift list. These books offer something to improve the lives of autistic and neurodivergent readers, from helping you reimagine your relationship with money to helping you tackle difficult conversations.

Keeping Finance Personal by Ellyce Fulmore

After reading this book, I felt much more confident about tackling my finances. By sharing relatable personal stories, advice from diverse financial experts, and emphasizing the intersectionality of finances, Ellyce Fulmore helps you build financial confidence. Fulmore says this book will “help you identify your money story, values, beliefs, and behaviours, and equip you with the tools to create a life where financial stability and joy coexist.”

Buy Keeping Finance Personal on Amazon or Bookshop.

What Did I Do Wrong? by Jaime A. Heidel

Jamie A. Heidel wrote this guide as a way to address the harm that can happen when we misunderstand our loved ones. This book is great for autistic people who want examples and language to communicate how their experiences are different from non-autistic people. This would also be a good book for non-autistic people who want to understand the autistic people in their life better.

What Did I Do Wrong? can be purchased on Amazon.

Nobody’s Normal by Roy Richard Grinker

If you’re intrigued by the concept of “normal” and its history, then Roy Richard Grinker’s book is a great read for you and is a great gift for anyone with mental illness. This book examines how society and culture shape our understanding and stigmatization of mental illness.

Purchase Nobody’s Normal on Amazon or Bookshop.

Odd Girl Out by Laura James

In this book, Laura James shares her late diagnosis and how she came to accept it. In addition to her own voice, she brings in the voices of experts to help explore the benefits of neurodiversity, its challenges, and why autism is underdiagnosed in women and girls. This book is a great gift for your autistic loved ones. It is also a great gift for non-autistic people who would like to learn more about the experiences of autistic women.

Purchase Odd Girl Out on Amazon or Bookshop.

Invisible Differences by Julie Dachez

For the graphic novel enthusiast on your gift list, Invisible Differences follows Marguerite and the challenges she faces that lead her to seek an Asperger’s diagnosis. Based on the author’s experience as a late-diagnosed autistic, this book dives into the difficulties autistic people might experience at work, in relationships, and in daily life and how freeing a diagnosis can feel.

Invisible Differences can be purchased on Amazon.

Sensory Life on the Spectrum, curated by Bex Ollerton

The comics in this anthology have been created by autistic authors who wanted to share their experiences of being autistic. From helpful advice to relatable struggles, these comics can help you feel less alone as an autistic person. This makes it the perfect gift for any of your autistic loved ones or anyone who wants to learn more about autistic experiences.

Purchase Sensory Life on the Spectrum on Amazon or Bookshop.

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

Unmasking Autism helps to explain the social conditions that lead to autistic people masking and how this negatively impacts our lives by limiting our self-expression. If you want to practice unmasking, this book offers advice on how to start expressing yourself authentically.

Unmasking Autism can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price

This book challenges the idea that our self-worth is based on how productive we are. Dr. Devon Price explores the “laziness” lie and how it impacts our lives. This book is a good fit for people who feel like they are never doing enough and want to challenge the idea of “laziness.”

Purchase Laziness Does Not Exist on Amazon or Bookshop.

We’re Not Broken by Eric Garcia

Eric Garcia challenges the idea that autistic people need to be “fixed” and instead explores how society does not support autistic people. Garcia creates the space for us to learn about the experiences and needs of many different autistic people. This book is very informative and is a great fit for people who want to learn more about how policy impacts autistic people.

Purchase We’re Not Broken on Amazon or Bookshop.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Building habits has always been a tricky task for me. They can feel impossible. This book will help you build a strong system so that building strong, helpful habits becomes natural. If you’ve been feeling like habits are impossible and like you’re not making any progress towards your goals, this book can give you tools that will help you feel more confident and capable.

Atomic Habits can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop

The ADHD Effect on Marriage by Melissa Orlov

This book will help you understand how relationships are impacted by ADHD while practicing viewing ADHD through a positive lens to improve your relationship. If you and/or your partner(s) have ADHD, this book is a great fit for you.

The ADHD Effect on Marriage can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop. 

How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis

This book was a life changer for me. KC Davis reframes cleaning as shame-free, a form of self-compassion, and encourages readers to realize that your space should serve you, not the other way around. This is the perfect gift for anyone because we all have care tasks on our to-do lists, but especially for people who feel like they are drowning in chores.

Purchase How to Keep House While Drowning on Amazon or Bookshop.

NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman

Steve Silberman explores the scientific and cultural history of autism while emphasizing the benefit of neurodiversity in society. This book also celebrates the achievements of autistic individuals. If you know someone who wants a detailed look at autism’s history, this book is the perfect gift for them.

NeuroTribes can be purchased on Bookshop or Amazon.

7 and a 1/2 Lessons About the Brain by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett discusses myths about the brain and will help you better understand what your brain does. If neuroscience seems intimidating, this book can help. It is even described on Dr. Feldman Barrett’s website as “The world’s first neuroscience ‘beach read.'” If you know someone who is interested in neuroscience, this is a great gift for them.

The book can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

How Emotions Are Made by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

As an autistic person, emotions have always been a tricky and intimidating part of life. Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s book How Emotions are Made helps to make emotions less intimidating by exploring what they are and how they are created. This book will also show you how culture influences the building of emotions.

How Emotions Are Made can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

For Canadians, How Emotions Are Made can be purchased here.

Neuroqueer Heresies by Dr. Nick Walker

Neuroqueer Heresies is a compilation of Dr. Nick Walker’s work on the neurodiversity paradigm. If you’d like to learn more about the intersection between autism and queerness and why a neurodiversity paradigm should be used instead of the pathology paradigm, this is a great book for you.

Neuroqueer Heresies can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

For Canadians, Neuroqueer Heresies can be purchased here.

Workplace Neurodiversity Rising by Lyric Rivera

Workplace Neurodiversity Rising is a good book to gift to business owners and leaders because it explores how organizations can become more supportive of neurodivergent individuals. If you know someone who is interested in making their workplace more accessible for neurodivergent people, this book can offer them some practical advice.

The book can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

Loud Hands: Autistic People Speaking by Julia Bascom

This book is a collection of essays written by autistic people that emphasize the diversity of autistic experiences. Along with being a great gift for your autistic loved ones, this would also be a great gift for your non-autistic loved ones so that they can better understand what their autistic loved ones are experiencing.

You can purchase this book on Amazon or Bookshop.

All the Weight of Our Dreams edited by Lydia X.Z. Brown, E. Ashkenazy, and Morènike Giwa Onaiwu

The experiences of autistic people of color are underrepresented in autistic literature. All the Weight of Our Dreams is a collection of literary and visual works, primarily focused on marginality, intersectionality, and liberation, by autistic people of color. This is a great gift for all individuals to expand their knowledge on the experiences of autistic people of color.

This book can be purchased on Amazon.

Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May

If you’ve been feeling tired, trapped, and anxious, this book can help by showing you how to change the way you relate to the world. Katherine May emphasizes the importance of approaching our surroundings with wonder and curiosity. She shows how we can see the magic in our environment if we pay attention to it and that our newfound sense of wonder can help us cope with anxious feelings.

Enchantment can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

What I Mean When I Say I’m Autistic by Annie Kotowicz

Annie Kotowicz’s memoir shares insights into her autistic brain, her experiences before and after diagnosis, and her thoughts about how to thrive as an autistic person. If you’d like to know more about why autistic and non-autistic people struggle to understand each other, the spectrum of autistic traits, and the diversity of minds, Annie Kotowicz’s book is a great read.

The book can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, Ron McMillian, Al Switzler, and Emily Gregory

Important conversations pop up in different areas of our lives all of the time. This book can help you feel more confident about tackling those high-stakes conversations to get the results you want. If you want to learn how to be more persuasive and make conversations more productive, this book is a good fit for you.

Crucial Conversations can be purchased on Amazon or Bookshop.

Want Some More Recommendations?

If you’d like to view other books recommended by Neurodiverging Coaching, please check out the Neurodiverging Coaching Bookshop (shipping only available in the U.S.) and Neurodiverging’s Amazon page.

For more gift ideas, check out our other gift guides: Gifts for Your Sensory Seeking Friends, Neurodivergent-Friendly Gift Guide for Sensory Sensitivities, and The Ultimate Gift Guide for Neurodivergent Parents.

Want to talk some more about book recommendations, gift ideas, or neurodivergence in general? Come check out Neurodiverging’s Patreon and the Discord channel (the link to the Discord channel can be found in the Patreon). We have an amazing community in the Discord,  and we’d love to see you there.