A review by saracatalyst
Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by John J. Ratey, Edward M. Hallowell

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

This book is built around constructed anecdotes from the authors’ experience as therapists. In some ways this can make the content engaging, but it also can be very triggering. The flip side of the triggering content is that some could feel the experience of being seen and not alone for the first time. Hard to know what your experience will be going in. 

The book does a great job of making the case that ADHD should be taken seriously and that it manifests in many different ways based on individual characteristics and environments. Despite lengthy lists of tips (that don’t seem all that separate or necessarily all actionable or tips per se), I do feel that the book falls a bit short on practical advice. Perhaps my expectations aren’t practical and working with a therapist and coach is truly necessary to get to what I’m looking for. 

I’ll be picking up more materials from Hallowell to see how the work has evolved and whether I can start to build on this knowledge in managing my own life and ADHD. I would recommend this book, as many do, for anyone who has ADHD or has loved ones with ADHD which is possibly most people. Strong caveat that you might be triggered, particularly if you have ADHD because it turns out that’s part of the deal with ADHD!