ADHD and Me - by Blake E S Taylor (Paperback)

About the Book

From an attempt to hurl his infant sister off the edge of a table to being lashed down to a dining room chair by an irate babysitter, the stories from Blake Taylor's life with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at times hilarious, tragic, and instructive. This eminently readable memoir sheds light on what it's like for a young person to grow up with, suffer from, and ultimately learn to live with this common condition.

Book Synopsis

Blake Taylor's mother first suspected he had ADHD when he, at only three years of age, tried to push his infant sister in her carrier off the kitchen table. As time went by, Blake developed a reputation for being hyperactive and impulsive. He launched rockets (accidentally) into neighbor's swimming pools and set off alarms in museums. Blake was diagnosed formally with ADHD when he was five years old. In ADHD and Me, he tells about the next twelve years as he learns to live with both the good and bad sides of life with ADHD.

Blake's memoir offers, for the first time, a young person's account of what it's like to live and grow up with this common condition. Join Blake as he foils bullies, confronts unfair teachers, struggles with distraction and disorganization on exams, and goes sailing out-of-bounds and ends up with a boatload of spiders. It will be an inspiration and companion to the thousands of others like him who must find a way to thrive with a different perspective than many of us. The book features an introduction by psychologist Lara Honos-Webb, author of The Gift of ADHD, and a leading advocate for kids with ADHD.

Review Quotes

Taylor offers readers an inside look at how he gets along on a daily basis as well as a guide for people in the same situation ... Students struggling with ADHD and their parents will benefit from the author's insights.
--Library Journal, 15 November 2007

Taylor speaks to fellow teens and their families with an authority few experts can muster.
--Publishers Weekly, 17 November 2007

Blake Taylor's book, ADHD and Me, is stereotype-busting from the outset. How can a whirlwind of a boy, now young man, like Blake, write such a lucid, disclosing, revealing, and, above all, insightful book? The book blends extremely personal descriptions of situations, binds, conflicts, and realities, some humorous and some deadly serious, with extremely useful practical information on how to cope with and overcome the often-devastating symptoms and impairments related to ADHD. Most of all, the book serves to humanize a label and a condition that are too frequently viewed with skepticism and even derision. This is a must-read for people of all ages who are concerned with ADHD, mental illness, treatment, coping, and stigma.
--Stephen P. Hinshaw, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley