“Going the Distance Book Reviews”: “From the Inside Out” by Mary Nixon-Hahn
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Feb 6, 2022
- 3 min read
Like all of society, I have a job that work to make a decent living as well as to provide me financial support that also allows “Going the Distance” to operate and thrive as an entrepreneurial business.
However, for other neurodiverse individuals, getting a job is just a way of paying the bills and getting through financially. But finding and holding onto a job can be a challenge.
For this book, author Mary Nixon-Hahn covers her own experiences of being neurodivergent while also being married, having three sons and having a job at Walmart aka “Wally World.”
For one thing, Mary discusses her experiences of getting a job at Walmart and how she dealt with annoying coworkers and overbearing managers, something that people like myself have experienced on a frequent basis.
Mary also talks about temporarily leaving Walmart hoping to spread her wings in another industry only for her to be tossed out unceremoniously by a manager who never really cared for her in the first place.
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Now, one thing I connected with Mary while reading this book is the fact that not only are we both neurodivergent, but also that we were in similar situations.
Like Mary, I have dealt with managers at Stop and Shop that don’t really give a damn about my overall contribution to the company and when I read the section about her idiot manager, Bill, I couldn’t help but think back to when I had an idiot manager named Cristina that yelled at me simply because I was in another part of the store cleaning up for the night.
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Another connection that Mary and I had was the fact that in both our respective jobs, we were pulled in different directions by people who worked in different departments.
Looking back on what I read, I once again empathize the importance of staying in your own lane. You are going to have people that are going to try and cross into your lane, but the important thing is to focus on what you need to do and that’s it. If your coworkers need to wait, then they need to wait. We are not like a toy that you can just fight over simply because you can’t share. You need to share your colleagues the same way as an object.
Like Mary, I have and still have people pulling me in different directions primarily because I can be trusted within the confines of my job, much to my chagrin at times.
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Finally, another area of the book I connected with was the fact that Mary and I both wanted to grow in our respective businesses. While Mary had managed to grow at Walmart, I wanted to try and grow at Stop and Shop, but after a few trial runs, I decided that I would much rather be happy in the position that I am in as a porter/janitor because my true growth is outside the company in running “Going the Distance.”
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In conclusion, while Mary and I worked for different companies in the same industry, our goals have been the same to help inspire and encourage neurodiverse/disabled individuals to seek out employment. If you are interested, feel free to check out Mary’s own business, “Ausome Angels Awareness” where you can learn more about what she does and several things you may not know about her such as serving our country in the US Military.
Mary, if you are reading this review, please accept my thanks and gratitude for serving our country!!
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