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A review by jadonm
Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood by John J. Ratey, Edward M. Hallowell
4.0
I think the most fascinating thing about this book - as someone who has ADHD and a long, long laundry list of coping mechanisms to help manage it - is just how much and how little has changed in this field in the thirty years since this book came out.
I wanted to read this because it was described to me as a sort of ADHD bible, something that, regardless of how much you may think you understand the condition, will still reward you with a new tidbit of information or revelation. I definitely got that from this book - the strongest revelation being the simple truth that the fundamentals (the ways we can manage ADHD, the ways ADHD is still stigmatized by certain groups of people, the constant battle of fact versus fiction in the medical world that really came to a head in 2020) really haven't changed. But at the same time, so much has; I mean, the name of the condition itself is different now, and there are new medications on the market that have shown significant improvements over the older medications mentioned in this book. The stigmas around ADHD are very different now than they were in 1990, but still just as prevalent. There is still a fight to be fought in the public perception of the condition, and I think there probably always will be.
This was a fascinating and extremely well-written nonfiction read. A very well-deserved four stars.
I wanted to read this because it was described to me as a sort of ADHD bible, something that, regardless of how much you may think you understand the condition, will still reward you with a new tidbit of information or revelation. I definitely got that from this book - the strongest revelation being the simple truth that the fundamentals (the ways we can manage ADHD, the ways ADHD is still stigmatized by certain groups of people, the constant battle of fact versus fiction in the medical world that really came to a head in 2020) really haven't changed. But at the same time, so much has; I mean, the name of the condition itself is different now, and there are new medications on the market that have shown significant improvements over the older medications mentioned in this book. The stigmas around ADHD are very different now than they were in 1990, but still just as prevalent. There is still a fight to be fought in the public perception of the condition, and I think there probably always will be.
This was a fascinating and extremely well-written nonfiction read. A very well-deserved four stars.