Interesting, I recently read Slow River by Nicola Griffith, a gay and disabled writer. That had similar criticism all over Goodreads for being non-linear. Interesting to see why the author may have done this now, the themes of the novel tie in with this theory.

I would add, as an ex fundamentalist, my deconversion absolutely followed this non linear route. I've often compared the process of deconversion to coming out, and although I'm straight cis, this is another aspect that resonates with my experience.