This was informative, but accessible. This is by an autistic adult who went through the process of getting a diagnosis (and has a lot of exeperience in the community).  The first section gave me a LOT to think about. I've already done a lot of reflecting on the DSM criteria, but some points she made I still hadn't thought of (and most, if not all, of the suprising points were things that I related to but I thought they were normal - oops!). She gives a good walk-through of the steps she took and gives some good tips on navigating stigma and other descisions that you need to make through the process. The specific walk-through of doing the diagnostic testing was only her experience, but she makes it clear that there are other ways it is done as well, even if this part of the book focuses on her experience (so while it would have been nice to know different ways it could go, that is clearly not what the book is trying to do). Overall, this was a neat resource to pick up and it gave me extra insight into this process. 

 I expected to like this because I am enjoy graphic nonfiction and thought that this would be an interesting topic -- and one that isn't often discussed. My expectations were fairly high but this totally exceeded them. 

This isn't just the story of a few revolts, it is also the author's story of being a Black woman historian studying this legacy. She does not shy away from the real issues that she faced trying to study this. She talks about the barriers to archives because of misogynoir at the time (men not recording details about women) and as it lives on today (being demeaned or even refused entry to some archives). She also goes into some of the weight of learning about such tremendous violence and loss that is a part of her history. 

Throughout, she also shares the story of several women throughout history. She shares the story of women leading several revolts in the colonies as well as on the slave ships. She also discusses her connection to her ancestors, even sharing her grandmother’s story of resilience. Some instances where there are no details beyond the acknowledgement that an attempt at revolt was made, she gave some of these women a story. She wraps up the book talking about ancestor and the presence of history. 

This was such a powerful book!