I picked up this book because it was about women with "Aspergers." It's an older book, from when aspergers was still a diagnosis. I forgave that and continued on.

First the good. I related to several of the women quoted throughout the book. Some of the experiences mentioned were so common and so relatable that I had to add yet another experience to the autism column of my life. I'm grateful to have more to think about in many of these categories.

But now I must bring up the bad. The first was a pet peeve. The author coined the term "Aspergirls" as the title of the book, but also as a word she uses repeatedly throughout the book. It irritated me every time it came up.

Second, though the interviews were with adult women, every chapter ends with two advice sections: advice to aspergirls, and advice to parents. The first felt targeted toward a teenager, toward someone with little to no life experience. The advice to parents section took it a step further, as advice for a neurotypical parent about how to raise a daughter with autism. I ended up begrudgingly reading the first, and skipping the second section at the end of every chapter.

The cisheteronormativity was also apparent, even when folks interviewed described pansexuality or asexuality, and nonbinary identities were at least hinted at. There is much advice about dating men, choosing men, marrying men, etc.

All of this so far would be forgivable in exchange for the epiphanies the book had for me. The pseudoscience however was too much.

My first red flag was when the author briefly mentioned both supplements and reiki as alternative treatments. I shuddered, but the book moved on quickly. Then chapter 19 happened. Stomach Issues and Autism.

This chapter represents the biggest 180 I have experienced with a book. Suddenly the author was positing that autism was caused by a compromised digestive system during development allowing "toxins" into the bloodstream and harming early brain development.

Then she goes on to suggest that diet is also the "cure" for autism, and tells a story of a nonscientific "experiment" she did with herself and others consuming strong antioxidant supplements only to see their autism symptoms lessen.

Maybe sometime I'll write about pseudoscience. For the sake of brevity I'll just say that all of this is at best bunk and at worst actually harmful.

I struggle to decide if this is a one star or a two star book. I went with two because I did learn some things, and those things will help me. I probably could have learned them somewhere else though.

I cannot recommend this book.