Much is made of the test scores, earning power, and innovative contributions of highly intelligent kids, but we rarely ask what it's actually like to be "gifted." In a culture obsessed with exceptionalism, sorting by intelligence has become an educational norm, leading thousands of American students to be ushered through (or noticeably left out of) advanced academic programs. Stereotypes and generalizations about these students--from the socially inept genius to the high-strung overachiever-have filled the gap in data about who they are apart from what they achieve. At a time of educational upheaval and rapidly declining youth mental health, former gifted kids--particularly women and nonbinary people also wrestling with questions of identity, inequality, and parenthood--are reckoning with the "gifted" label.

This work offers personal accounts from diverse voices, each one considered a "gifted kid" in their youth, and considers questions of identity, inequality, poverty, racism, and more. Essays address the dangers of praising achievements over efforts, imposter syndrome, intelligence as identity, and why even the smartest among us often feel like failures, among many other topics.