Book Review - ADHD is Awesome by Penn & Kim Holderness
I found myself getting choked up and teary-eyed reading Penn’s introduction. It’s always gratifying to find someone who shares the experience of having ADHD, and Penn’s description of how it impacts his life is both charming and relatable.
The transitions are a bit jumpy, which is probably good for getting through the whole book but might be distracting in itself. Maybe I wasn’t interpreting or understanding it correctly, though; others might not have the same opinion.
There are a couple of tools in this book that I think might be particularly useful. One is the Pain Point Rating System. Penn makes a good point that some of the behaviors that might bug you about having ADHD aren’t necessarily holding you back from success. There’s a handy rating tool to determine where to focus your energy when identifying strategies and interventions that will positively impact your life.
Another especially useful section is Chapter 12, called Charge Your Battery. In this chapter, Penn overviews “The Big Six,” which are six aspects of daily life that, when managed, make significant contributions to a person’s ability to manage ADHD symptoms. These include exercise, sleep, nutrition, connection, medication, and meditation.
In addition to providing an overview of how each of these contributes to a person’s overall well-being, Penn suggests practical tips to implement in your own self-care arsenal.
Kim contributed a lot to the section on caretakers for people with ADHD, but I found it helpful for thinking about situations in which I provide support for others with different issues as well.
One part of the book I didn’t love was Penn’s method of recovering in a conversation when your mind wanders. He recommends a pretty complicated series of if-thens, most of which lead to the other person finishing the story without realizing you hadn’t been paying attention, and only owning up if all attempts to catch up from context clues fail. In my opinion, I prefer to bite the bullet and admit that I lost the plot. An apology and letting the person know you really do want to hear ALL of what they said is going to be healthier for the relationship going forward.
Perhaps my favorite part of the book is the endnotes section. It’s so comprehensive. I wrote down a lot of the references Penn made, and it’s super helpful to know where to go for the original sources.
Final Thoughts:
• Would I Recommend It? Yes
• Who Might Enjoy It: People who are newer to an ADHD diagnosis, people who love people with ADHD who want to hear more from someone else who struggles with it.
• Takeaway Message: It’s a quick read and is pretty light, but with some through-provoking insights.
• Where to find it: Check your local library, or find it on Amazon.
