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This is a must-read for anyone who has ADD, or thinks they may, as well as for parents, friends, spouses, and teachers. As refreshing as it is significant, Bryan focuses on many positive traits, such as the creativity many AD/HDers display, that can be cultivated. This affected every area of his life, alienated him, and led to the deep-seated belief that he was inherently "bad". We also laughed because it helped make sense of my own experiences with AD/HD, which went undiagnosed until I was 35. While reading it, my mother found me crying and asked what was wrong.
Once she finished, we cried together. He urges those who believe they may have AD/HD be evaluated in order to determine whether they have the disorder, maintaining that knowledge of AD/HD is key to overcoming its unique challenges and to creating a successful life and a bright future. On a personal level, my Mom and I BONDED over it. Though many excellent books describing AD/HD exist, most are written from a medical or purely self-help perspective, perspectives that create distance from the phenomenon of having AD/HD.
The book also explains how he coped with the overwhelming shame he experienced and how he went about developing the more positive thinking patterns that have led to an extremely successful life. Bryan shares his innermost thoughts through this raw recollection of his own life experiences, even in a world where having AD/HD remains stigmatized. Though Mom had read a few of the "popular", recommended AD/HD books, she had never before understood my behaviors or my feelings. Bryan's memoir provides an invaluable contribution to the field of AD/HD literature because it is written from the perspective of an insider, someone who has ADD. due to its short chapters, its vivid descriptions, and the fast-moving story that moves from pain to triumph.
What makes this book special. Bryan provides insight into not only what having AD/HD feels like, but also explains that it is a neurological condition, thereby shattering myths still commonly held about it in our culture. He describes how AD/HDers' minds work differently than those of non-AD/HDers', something I wish I'd known before my own late diagnosis, and like Bryan, felt defective as a human being. His own successes show that while there may be many negatives associated with having AD/HD, that realizing and developing the positive traits can actually be a gift, a resource for achievement. His tell-all life story recounts, with an amazing vulnerability, what it was like for him to grow up in his family, his school years, his friendships, his career, and his romantic life. I couldn't put the book down. I told her what this memoir was about, and let her read it.
This book has changed my mindset from one of alienation to one of hope. Undiagnosed until the age of 37, the author recalls excruciatingly painful memories from early childhood through the more positive experiences of his present life. Perhaps most importantly, he openly describes how his behavior before his diagnosis, and others' reactions to it, took an extreme toll on his self-esteem. For those of us who know we have AD/HD, he stresses the responsibility we must take for improving our lives.Finally, the book is highly readable (especially for someone who has AD/HD).
This books gives such hope for millions who have felt pain, humiliation, or just lost; it assures them they, too, can find a path for healing and joy in the celebration of living.It's one of those books every therapist will want to have in their library to refer to patients. As a therapist who treats many ADHD patients, I can tell you what a real find this book is. Thank you, Bryan.Dr. Simple, raw, inspiring. ADHD can be a blessing, not a curse. Nancy B. IrwinLos Angeles, CA
He explained the why's of what somone with ADD does what they do and how they see, compensate and navigate through the world. This book was incredible. Bryan's story was almost identical to mine and he answered questions I've had about myself and my life that I've struggled with for years. This book was an extremely emotional read for me but left me with a very positive outlook and ideas on what steps to take to improve my life. A must read for anyone with or related to someone with ADD.
The book is an easy read, and is more of a auto-biographical accounting of how the author has overcome some traumatic events in his life as a child, some genetic pre-dispositions, as well as some failed recognition by the public school system (of his condition).The book also provides a healthy dose of excellent, practical tips that people can relate to -- because they are all couched in real-life stories, i.e. I came to know Mr. accounts from the author's life. Bryan Hutchinson through some internet research I was doing on the topic of ADD, in particular in how it manifests itself in adults. After prerusing his website and reading a sample chapter of the book, I 'bit.' After receiving the book in a timely manner from Amazon, I began to read it.I could not put it down. The book is not scientific in nature, one learns from it by 'experiencing' how a young man overcame some tremendous obstacles to eventually reach a relatively healthy, well-balanced life.In summary, I highly recommend this book to people personally struggling with ADD, as well as professionals who must treat them. Joel Goodsen, Ph.D.
Hutchinson agrees that the future holds an attraction which the past and the actual do not. I vowed never to read another book on ADD/ADHD. I read all about the different skills I needed to acquire to overcome this debilitating learning disorder. Mr. This kind of intuition defies rational explanation, yet this is how many of us view our world.Praise is sweet but their can be no greater feeling than finding those who understand. These books were all informative, providing valuable information for those with ADD/ADHD, their families and teachers.Yet not one book served to provide an answer to what has always been disturbing me - that is until I read Mr.
Complex ideas come to him as a complete whole,unable to explain how he knows. I understood why the near genuis IQ, why I performed so poorly in school, told I was lazy and why I had trouble focusing. We see life around the bend, beyond the horizon and like myself, he can speculate for hours about the possibilities. Hutchinson's book, "One Boy's Struggle. This is why I cherish this book and highly recommend it.Reality never impressed me. We both agree that whatever is can be better or different, consequently experiencing a vague sense of restlessness.
Thank you for sharing your heartfelt story and alleviating the burden that I am not alone.
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