Oh my goodness. I'll Just Be Five More Minutes (And Other Tales From My ADHD Brain) is exactly what I needed to read during this period of extreme executive dysfunction. Emily Farris is a fellow Xennial who got diagnosed late (mid-30s for her, 40 for me) and it is a relief in every way to have an answer as to WHY our brains work this way. Farris is more physically hyper focused than I am, but I do wistfully remember those pre-kids nights of manic energy. Her essays are very relatable and easily digestible. I like how she doesn’t feel the need to stretch any topic out (and probably didn’t have the mental capacity to do so at times), so this was a lovely read. I genuinely enjoyed hearing her background and perspective. Highly highly recommend if you or a loved one has ADHD.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Books for providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.

All I can say is that Emily Farris is clearly my kindred spirit. Do you have ADHD? Even think you have it? Read this. You will, without a doubt, see yourself in her stories.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Funny and informative! I enjoyed the book and the writing style. The only thing I didn’t like about the book is if felt way too personal and I don’t know the author.

This is a book where I came in expecting something different from what it was - and that’s not the book’s fault, just my own expectations. But ultimately that meant this wasn’t the right read for me and I decided to DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free copy to review.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Memoirs usually aren't my favorite, but this one surprised me. The memoir is made up of a bunch of short stories about the author's life, specifically her journey with ADHD before and after being diagnosed.

Emily Farris's writing is refreshing. She is honest and vulnerable with her readers, unafraid to share details. She's also really funny, which I appreciated considering some of the heavier themes she discusses.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting a funny, honest, and reflective work of non-fiction.

I requested this ARC because I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and wanted some relatable insight and inspiration. I was not familiar with the author prior to learning about this book.

I'll Be Just Five More Minutes is written in essay style, and several chapters felt like something I could've written myself because they resonated so deeply.

However, I struggled with many of the other chapters because at times, it seemed like ADHD was being used as a catchall excuse for undesirable behaviors. I found myself feeling a lot of sympathy for her spouse and wondering if the author realized how selfish she came across in some of the stories.

Overall this wasn't what I expected. While I appreciated the honestly and transparency, I didn't leave this book feeling enlightened or uplifted.

I read this cover to cover and as a person who was diagnosed with ADHD in their younger years, I did see myself in some of Emily Farris's experiences. However, despite the similarities, towards the end, I found her unlikeable and a tiring experience for her husband. Despite receiving a diagnose at 35, and getting some medication for it, Emily still exhibits some qualities that make being in a relationship, or even trying to establish a meaningful relationship at all, with her a chore. In one chapter, she talks about being engrossed by the paint color in the room as her husband tries to talk to her. Her internal narrative is all about the paint color, thereby having her husband be a droning voice in the background. In another, she retells how she mis-scheduled herself and was not there for her best friend's wedding. Then she goes on to list other ways she fails as a friend, noting that if said friend didn't know her since childhood, they wouldn't still be friends because no one would put up with her shenanigans for long. Now, I'm not trying to make Emily seem like an unlikeable character, she does have redeeming qualities!, but that was the perspective I took away from this memoir.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy of I’ll Just be Five More Minutes! This memoir by Emily Farris was hilarious, chaotic and very relatable. Emily inspired me to see the beauty and humor in being neurodivergent, rather than seeing it as a character flaw. I found myself skimming the listicle chapters, but overall I found the memoir to be charming, validating, honest and very entertaining.

First, I want to congratulate author Farris on completing this book while navigating through the challenges of ADHD, working a full-time job, and taking care of her marriage and two young sons. I’ve suspected for a couple of years now that I have inattentive ADHD—which is part of the reason I was eager to read this memoir—and I can’t imagine finishing a project of this magnitude while having as much going on in my life as Farris. That in itself is an achievement, so I hope she feels proud. She has also inspired me to get screened for ADHD…if I can remember to make the appointment, haha.

Farris is a funny and talented writer, and I appreciated her honesty and candor. I read this book hoping to gain more insight into the mindset and symptoms of a woman who was diagnosed with ADHD later in life (age 36) and Farris delivered. I found myself highlighting large portions of the text and writing notes like, “It’s me!” (Not very insightful, I know, but it was such a relief to finally see my own baffling behavior and habits reflected in another woman.) And, man oh man, Farris has taken on a dizzying amount of jobs and projects. In the back of the book she shares a list of the positions she’s held throughout her working life, and I found myself chuckling as her resume continued on and on with some of the most random gigs you could imagine for someone who ended up becoming a professional writer. I could probably make a similar list of all the creative projects I’ve started and then abandoned once I received a lukewarm reception or the dopamine faded.

Farris clearly demonstrated how ADHD has affected almost every area of her life, but a few of her stories seemed to have little to do with ADHD and were possibly included simply because they were funny or interesting. Maybe Farris felt everything she shared could be traced back to ADHD, but I didn’t spot the connection in some cases. But that’s not a dealbreaker, as she’s still an entertaining writer, even if parts of the book felt a little off-topic.

Ultimately, I’m left with mixed feelings about the book, and they largely come from knowing some of the context of Farris’s real life. I’m always curious about the social media presence of the contemporary authors I read, and since I was previously unfamiliar with her work I looked her up on Instagram. Soon after following her account I saw that she posted an article she’d written about her marriage falling apart as “I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes” was about to be released. You can check it out here: https://cupofjo.com/2024/01/30/adhd-m...

Reading Farris’s article and returning to the book with this new perspective was like doing a black light inspection in a hotel room: I could clearly see the problems that led to her divorce from her husband Kyle, and I felt empathy for her and her family. (Farris has stated on social media that the split is for the best, but of course it’s going to be painful for all of them during the separation process.) The news about her divorce led me to believe I wasn’t getting the full picture in the book, since Farris’s marriage was still intact when she wrote it.

Throughout the text—as Farris points out in her article—she uses self-deprecating humor to portray her husband as a long-suffering victim of her issues with ADHD. She jokes about ignoring his needs, pokes fun at her penchant for taking on sudden and unnecessary home improvement projects, and lays bare her challenges with money management, executive dysfunction, planning ahead, and the compromises required to maintain a healthy marriage. She repeatedly writes about trying not to make Kyle mad with her ever-changing hyper fixations and their incompatible temperaments. After reading the article, I found myself wondering if Farris had taken the self-deprecation too far. Was she really as dismissive of her husband’s wants and needs as she portrayed in the book, or was she trying to keep her family together by putting the blame on herself? What would this book have been like had Farris written it post-divorce? Would she have joked less at her own expense and given herself more grace and understanding, now that she didn’t have to mask the difficulties in her marriage? Sadly, we won’t get that version of the book, but maybe Farris will write a follow-up in which she gives herself more credit for everything she’s accomplished and can be open about the problems on both sides that led to the divorce. Or maybe she won’t write a follow-up and will keep that aspect of her life private. Either way, I wish her the best and I hope she’s doing okay right now. She seems to be, but it’s hard to tell when you only see a person’s public persona.

All in all “I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes” was helpful and comforting to me, knowing that there was another woman out there who faced similar mental challenges, but was still strong and surviving, completing important projects, and being a good mom. I hope to read more from Farris in the future, and I’m rooting for her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Books for the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thought I'd enjoy this more than I did. For someone with ADHD, and a woman, I found a lot of the stories validating (her reflections on spending and money habits mirror mine and it was such a relief to know it's not just me) but more often I found them almost... triggering? It certainly is what it says it's going to be - a collection of essays about the peril of someone who lives with ADHD. And yet, I didn't get the uplifting or even humbling experience I was hoping for. By the 75% mark, I was more skimming than anything due to my intense discomfort over the author airing her dirty laundry about her marriage. This book may be more suitable for an audiobook format, or something to read over a month rather than in a week. Overall, it was underwhelming and slightly disappointing. But, if you're someone who had ADHD and wants to see (maybe) your experience mirrored, this may be for you.

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This felt like a conversation with a friend! I love so many people who have received late in life ADHD diagnoses so this seemed like a helpful peek into their brains. Her descriptions are so vivid and every essay seemed like she was just recounting the latest incident to you over brunch. I laughed out loud several times.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: February 6, 2024

This is a collection of short personal essays surrounding the author’s adult ADHD diagnosis and working through what that means. While many of these resonated shockingly close to home, an equal number were harder to connect to. While ADHD can be the cause for many behaviors, it’s not an excuse for every behavior. Funny, but sometimes repetitive toward the end.

I loved this book/collection of essays. I want to make "Why I Never Responded to Your Text" my auto-reply. There were two essays that were lists, one of things forgotten and never forgotten, and another of people she thinks are mad at her. Both were kind of funny but totally resonated.
While I don't have the author's financial issues and lack of ability to file taxes in time, or her severe aversion to fruit, I did honestly enjoy reading this whole book and flew throught it. It was like chatting with a good friend, seeing all of each other's flaws and good parts and struggles.

ADHD and women/adults isn’t talked about much until lately. I see myself within the lines. I used to link adhd to children but books like this opened my eyes.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

A decent and funny book of essays mostly about being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult.

Funnily, I think I've been reading this on and off since last year - picking it up and putting it down whenever I needed a dash of non-fic to read. There are several relatable moments throughout the essays shared, in a positive way! As someone who was formally diagnosed later in life, there are things I've always done that now make more sense with a diagnosis. There are a few moments that are relatable throughout that made me cringe, because I was recognizing myself and the traits that I wish I didn't possess.

And thennnn every once in a while, I'd read something that gave me the vibe of those people on social media that use ADHD to excuse everything they do, even when it makes no sense and actually makes them seem unhinged. Those parts were harder to get through, because while it *could* be your ADHD manifesting, I also have to wonder where we draw the line, you know?

Overall, I did enjoy this read and there was enough that felt relatable to make it feel worthwhile to me. Just because it doesn't exactly match my personal experience doesn't mean it may not align totally with another person's experience, and I'd recommend giving it a try!

I may have identified with the author a little too much to be able to truly "enjoy" the book, but it was heartfelt, honest, and very eye-opening.

A significant read, with enough fun and humor to forget most of the complex hearbreak within.

This is such a cute, witty novel and deep dive into someone's brain with ADHD. I enjoyed the read and liked how I related to the information and lifestyle she has. I also enjoyed how she talks about her own life and is able to be relatable even if you don't have ADHD and read this novel. Overall, would recommend.

Emily Farris gives us witty, raw, and sentimental personal essays about her life and being diagnosed at 35 with ADHD. She touches on relationships, hyper-fixations, money issues, and so much more from a neurodivergent perspective. A must-have for those (especially women) asking, “Why do I do this?”
If you are like me and keep wondering, why am I acting like this? What is wrong with me?
First, nothing is wrong with you.
Second, read this book when it comes out!
While everyone’s experiences are not always the same, Farris does a great job of helping you understand that you aren’t alone. The world is fucking overwhelming and for someone with a neurodivergent mind, it is often up to that person to figure out how they can fit in the world, not how the world can adjust to different ways of thinking and doing - which, not cool.
I never read personal essay format books, but I requested this because I figured if I learn something about myself and don’t feel so crazy, that’s a plus, right? Side note: this book also gave me the oomph I needed to create my own personal essays about the drama with my mama.
Thank you, Emily for being so vulnerable.

This fun and easy to read book will give you a great insight to live with ADHD. It I was such an eye opener for me to realize how hard it is for people to concentrate and stay on track with even with medications. A really interesting read. I definitely feel the reader will have more knowledge of life with ADHD after reading this book.