Today I want to briefly talk to you about a book that helped me start to revisit the impact ADHD was having in my life. Even though I was diagnosed in my early thirties, initially I didn’t believe the diagnosis, much less take it seriously. This book really shifted my perspective: The Queen of Distraction: How Women with ADHD Can Conquer Chaos, Find Focus, and Get More Done, by Terry Matlen, MSW.
I listened to it quite a while ago (Aug 2018), and I’m just now getting around to reviewing it (hahaha, irony…), but so much still sticks with me every day. Specifically, the details about emotion regulation, hyper sensitivity, and hormones. THIS is the book that helped me realize I’m not crazy or defective, and suggested ideas for planning around the way my biology wants to work. Of the three specifics I mentioned, the difference in how ADHD women (and girls) experience emotion was so freaking liberating to me…that alone is worth the price of the book. Seriously. I am forever changed by this knowledge, and frankly, reassurance.
I’d like to also share that this book is very accessible, even (and especially) if you aren’t an academic. It’s an easy read (or, in my case, listen), and the author really brings the technical into the practical. It’s certainly a great book that came into my life at the perfect time, and I owe it (and Ms. Matlen) a huge debt of gratitude.