Not being a psychologist or a doctor, I’m reviewing this book from the point of view of a person who is familiar with ADD and ADHD only from personal experience and from reading extensively on the subject.
When you hear the term ADD, hyperactive, badly behaved children who do poorly at school come to mind, but this condition doesn’t only affect children. Gina Pera’s book, Is It You, Me, or Your Adult A.D.D.? takes a look at an often ignored aspect of ADD, that of adult ADD.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I mainly deals with discovering the condition in your partner and the roller coaster ride that it often is; the signs; the twists and the turns. Part II takes a close look at the disorder itself, breaking down its elements; and its management. In Part III, the author shares four successful strategies. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the book only has three parts, as each one is scrupulously detailed and offers an amalgam of information. With its 370 pages, the book is quite hefty. I don’t want to list all the topics included in the book, but suffice it to say that it covers ADD in all its forms, from what it is, to its effects, to how to treat it, to the misconceptions, to its sometimes erroneous perception by doctors and educators, to the various treatments and medications available. Pera also looks at the possible causes and at the possibility of it being hereditary.
Pera uses graphics, tables, and a full bibliography to support the information offered in the book. It is also well structured and clearly written in a straightforward, engaging style.
Some people joke about it; others take it lightly; yet others take it seriously. One thing’s for sure: ADD affects many people and their families, and the more we become educated on the subject, the better. From what I have read and heard, it’s amazing the ignorance of most people on the subject. If you have a partner who suffers from ADD, this book is definitely a must read to help put things in perspective.
Visit the author’s blogs at http://adhdrollercoaster.org and http://adhdpartner.org.
Article comments
1 - Ed
It's no exaggeration to say that this book saved my life -- and saved my family. My wife had tried to tell me for years that I had some of the problems explained in this book (irritability, weird sleep habits, "overpromising and underdelivering") but I thought she was just being critical.
Finally, being laid off a few months ago was a big wake-up call. I didn't have to get laid off, but I'd given them good reasons to let me go. Now I'm working on learning what I have to do to get back on track. This book is helping me see how to do that. It explains very clearly why I've had these problems (since I was a kid), how the meds work, what I can do to avoid side effects, and it also explains why my years of individual therapy mostly made things worse, especially for my wife. It explains specific strategies for learning to stop procrasting, etc. It is not easy to face all this at age 43, but it was much harder to keep going in the old direction I was going.