NeuroDivergent Rebel's The Weight of Normal

by Lyric Rivera

122 pages, Paperback

Published December 16, 2025

Reviews

[Steffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Lyric & their tireless advocacy for the autistic and queer communities. This book was incredibly relatable as a late recognized autistic person. I suffered many of the same struggles but also had many of the same strengths (hyperlexia, hyper empathy, etc) This book would be a great resource for anyone with an autistic loved one.

[Sai Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was one of the few people who got a copy of this during it's pre-sale term and as a privilege I had not expected - I found this book to be one of the foremost insightful publications of 2025 and that Lyric's way with words is only outmatched by their use of breakdown to describe experiences from their perspective that fully make sense of the lens most neurodivergent people will relate to.

Some of us, like Lyric, found the way to best describe our experiences through writing and others who are still looking for the best descriptions of their nuanced experiences will find that Lyric's detail and tackling of so many intersectional things masking brings us through are both poignant and saddening, but more than that they show us that through advice and seeking to understand each other's differences we can find common ground and most of all, that none of us are alone despite how isolating being audhd, adhd, autistic, and simply different can be.

The Weight of Being Normal shows the very real burden of carrying an attempt to fit into something you were never meant to be and how defeating and depressing that is.

If we can unburden ourselves by finding those who will help shelter that weight, and allow us the freedom to be our weirdest, quirkiest, most authentic selves, then life can be amazing.