HOW TO ADHD is an incredible resource for anyone who has ADHD (or wants to understand it). Full of real-life examples, not just from the author but from her online community of regular people with this one big thing in common, it's absolutely a must-buy.

I started reading this book on my Kindle and quickly realized it was not something I could get through in a few days. It actually took me several weeks, as each chapter was full of relatable personal experiences and valuable information about how to deal with them. I don't have a lot of friends with ADHD, but I always feel so validated when I talk to the few I do have. This book can be that friend when you need one, or teach you to be that friend for someone you love.

A resource you’ll want to keep—to help put that specific struggle into words for your parents or boss, or to read when you feel particularly alone—and share, I recommend purchasing a physical copy to annotate.

Thank you to Rodale Inc. for the ARC, and to Jessica McCabe for writing this book and building a community where people like me can go to feel validated in our struggles.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

I took so long to read this because I wanted to remember every word.

This book is stuffed full of extremely practical strategies, tips, and hacks for living with ADHD. It also does a great job explaining “why.” Why do we think the way we do? Why don’t “normal” strategies work for us? Why is my ADHD experience so different from another person’s?

Jessica McCabe backs it all up with research and empathy. This is the best non-fiction book I have ever read.

The author runs a YouTube channel by the same name, started as a way to collect her own knowledge about ADHD as she learned more. I had not encountered her channel before, but her book was interesting and informative with information on her own background and experience as well as tips on managing symptoms or challenges. One thing that I found noteworthy was her willingness to accept ADHD as a disability, which is something I don't think I have considered previously. It's hard for me mentally to make the leap from "former gifted kid with messy room who squandered all potential and is now failing at life and living in disorder and disarray" to "person with legitimate disability who was unaware and unprepared for life." I was also relieving in reading the chapter about social interaction to learn it's not just me that has these challenges. 4 stars.

Provided by NetGalley

I found the book to be very informational and intuitive, especially since I personally grew up with someone with ADHD as well. With having any sort of disability, it is can be challenging when not knowing what is going on with you and also not knowing why this is affecting you. This book 'How to ADHD' brings to light different techniques on what someone is able to do in certain situations and how we as individuals can help not only ourselves, but also help others that are struggling. Definitely a recommend for me and encourage anyone to read too.

I find it utterly hilarious in a way that this book on ADHD is long enough to deserve its own intermission. I absolutely could not read all of this information in one go without about a month long break in between.

That's not to say the writing wasn't investing. It was. Nor is it that the research or peer experiences are ill informed. Basically everything written is very thorough... If you only ever read one book on ADHD written by someone with the condition, then this is the one you go for.

But it does go to show that ADHD is a really complex condition. That there are multiple presentations of it. That not everyone is going to have the same experience because, guess what, we are all different people with greater or lesser struggles and tools in our kits that may be better at dealing with this (executive dysfunction, say) or that (hyperfixations) dependent on situation.

I don't think that a short review here is going to necessarily do a lot of justice to the wide array of topics covered within these pages. I will say, though, that the linking between topics are covered in multiple places with differing emphasises worked for me, as did the foot notes (but only when I was in a mood where my attention was above a certain point. Otherwise they were, well distracting, but also that is the condition so what can you do).

What I will say is that this book is the culmination of a 7 year personal journey by Jessica McCabe to understand her condition better, to incidentally connect with people around the world in the doing of it, and to ultimately create both community and accessible information sharing in the process. Like many of us, she's come to the end of that 7 year journey feeling almost like the place she started from is unrecogiseable, but it's difficult to see how she couldn't be pleased by the research and community she's amassed in this time. Now we can either watch her on YouTube, or see much of the same information collated all together in this one, thick book.

Jessica McCabe shares her ADHD journey through writing a book on ADHD with ADHD. Strategies of how to life and embrace yourself throughout. As McCabe acknowledges not two ADHDers are the same, she brings in coping strategies of others from the ADHD community. The book is a love letter to all of us with ADHD. A must for everyone with ADHD, anyone who loves someone with ADHD, and anyone who teacher someone with ADHD.

Jessica McCabe is familiar to me as I watch her popular YouTube channel. However, I was so impressed with her depth of research and the way her empathy comes through in the written form as this was a new way to process her information that she shares. I found this book so helpful as an adult who was diagnosed late in life with ADHD. I immediately told my husband that after I finish the e-arc, I need to buy a physical copy to keep.

This book is a wealth of knowledge and has been thoughtfully researched. Jessica is a gem, and her work will benefit so many people. I recommend this book to all libraries and bookstores!

I’m not sure what I was expecting. I requested this one because at 39, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Maybe the book felt a little TOO relatable. Like I was reading things I have already experienced so there were no surprises.

I didn't feel alone. That is the best way I can describe this book. As a mom of an ADHD child, it was a wealth of wisdom. I was able to dig deeper into her mind and to truly understand how it thinks. So often it is isolating being a parent of an ADHD child but this was the opposite. The things that feel so abnormal suddenly aren't . Great Read.

Thank you Net Galley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest reivew!

This book was fantastic and offered many new strategies that I can't wait to start implementing in my own life. I highly recommend this book to anyone with ADHD to help you learn more about how your brain proccess information and how you can use this information to your benefit.

“Forget “try harder.” When your brain works differently, you need to try different.“

Ever since my ADHD diagnosis, three-ish years ago, I’ve sought out those with similar brains, (but with more experience!) to help me navigate my world in a different way.

Jessica, with her YouTube channel, was one of my guides.

Good for all ADHDers, (and those who love them), this book is the culmination of all her Notes-to-Self.

Balancing precariously between scientific research and anecdote, it does a great job of giving you Enough but Not Too Much to help you negotiate your neurodivergent pathways.

Note to all fellow NDs: This book is best in small bites. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the information. Perhaps treat this book like a compendium, a reference, or maybe even a bathroom book. Or, maybe hyperfocus and have it all done in one sitting. You do you.

And get a physical copy, so you can underline, make notes, and LEND TO YOUR FAVOURITE NEUROTYPICAL.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rodale Inc., for this helpful ARC.

Title: How to ADHD An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It
Author: Jessica McCabe - @howtoadhd
Genres: Nonfiction - ADHD focus
Radiance Rating: Sparkle (5 Stars) (I started this rating system on my blog a few years ago and I want to start using it here too!

Review:
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the free book in exchange for a review!
This book was a love language to anyone with ADHD while still providing a toolbox of suggestions to help with things that we might struggle with. This book is absolutely one of the best books on ADHD and it’s written by a person with ADHD. It is by the creator of the YouTube channel How to ADHD, when I first learned that I had ADHD, How to ADHD was one of my favorite resources for learning about ADHD and how to manage it. Jess does a great job at using both evidence and personal experience to help other ADHDers. This book covers everything about ADHD, from sleep and executive function to all sorts of other tasks and habits that people with ADHD might struggle with. This also has ideas and life hacks that other adults with ADHD use in their daily life and how they help them. I do wish there were more first-hand accounts from college students - because that would have helped me as a reader but this book was perfect even without them. Overall I would recommend this book to everyone with ADHD and everyone who loves someone with ADHD.

This book was extremely interesting. It is full of information about how to work with your brain, ways to find confidence in your skills, and many stories and examples. I'm still absorbing all of the information, but I definitely plan to read this book again. There is so much helpful information in there! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book.

This book is a great resource for anyone who has ADHD or lives with someone with ADHD. The way the book is organized allows you to jump from chapter to chapter and is full of really helpful tips and tricks related to executive functioning, time management, etc. I will definitely be using this a resource for myself and the ADHD folks in my life moving forward!

How to ADHD is chock-full of helpful tips, both for ADHD "brains" and the "hearts" who love them. Jessica's writing style is delightfully conversational, while also being extremely detailed and well-researched. As I read, I kept wishing for a tangible copy so I could physically highlight, bookmark, and take notes on the passages that were particularly relevant to our family. I'll definitely be coming back to this one again and again.

Jessica McCabe’s YouTube channel, How to ADHD, drew me (and over 1.6 million other subscribers!!) in with her generous, whole-hearted style. Now, she is reaching out to even more people through her first book, "How to ADHD: An Insider’s Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It)" (Rodale Books, 2024).

Expounding on her own ADHD experiences from childhood, as well as the intersection of ADHD on her educational, financial, career, and relationship trajectories, McCabe finds her path in helping others “ADHD.” Becoming the knowledgeable (but not all-knowing) guide unavailable to her growing up, she now offers topical chapters on executive functioning, sleep, motivation, and how to “see time” to Brains (what McCabe calls ADHDers). A chapter is also written specifically for the Hearts (what McCabe calls the people who love ADHDers).

McCabe’s exploration of comorbidities and systemic inequalities in the chapter “Wait, What Do You Mean It’s Not Just ADHD?” covers health and sociopolitical grounds that most similarly themed books do not tackle simultaneously. While broaching her own traumatic loss and grief in 2020, as well as a support group she participated in, she also discusses how she missed voices in her own ADHD community.

Thank you to Jessica McCabe, Rodale Books, and NetGalley for the eArc.

TLDR: This is the best book I have ever read about ADHD and I have recommended to several people, including those who have ADHD and do not have ADHD. I have offered to buy it for people so they read it. Read this book. You won't forget it.

I have read several books about ADHD to try and manage my symptoms. All other books have been difficult for me because I felt like they were condescending, ableist, and used shame when explaining ADHD and suggesting coping mechanisms. This book is the complete opposite of that. It is full of coping mechanisms that are manageable and varied for different people, needs, and preferences. The author also breaks down the science of brains and ADHD in a way that is clear and simple without being condescending. She infused so much empathy and compassion into this book between her experiences and including others experiences that I cried several times from feeling so seen and hopeful. I can't recommend this book enough. Please buy it and buy it for everyone you know, whether or not you have ADHD.

I requested this book because I have family members with ADHD. It's a book to read slowly and absorb not only the words but the feelings McCabe describes. I feel like I understand better what my family members are going through as they try to fit into a world that does not understand them.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I've followed Jessica McCabe's work for awhile, so I was curious about this book! I am sure it is going to be popular with the ADHD crowd.

This book is well-written in a conversational style. McCabe shares many stories from her own life as someone with an ADHD brain. It's a quick and easy read, well designed visually, with lots of ways to break up the text. She designed this book for ADHDers to read, and it shows. This book was a labor of love.

The "toolkit" sections describe different ways that ADHDers can address specific challenges they might face. I think these sections especially will be helpful for neurodivergent folks and I might come back to some of them myself. There are also a lot of quotes from ADHDers throughout the book, which highlights a variety of experiences - yay for lived experience!

The big criticism I have is that McCabe doesn't actually question the narrative that ADHD is a "disorder." It is, indeed, a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference but that doesn't mean it's an abnormal way to be. This book doesn't get there though. It's still using the language and ideas of the pathology paradigm.

While McCabe argues that ADHDers need support, she rarely discusses environments like school and work needing to change to support neurodivergent people in any substantive way. I'm not just talking about helping break up assignments into manageable tasks. I want to talk about the inherent problems in coercive schooling and the inhumane work expectations that have been normalized, to everyone's detriment. There's a reason ND folks are called the canaries in the coal mines.

This book is all about how ADHD brains can adapt to their specific challenges, instead of pushing back on why the environments are set up that way in the first place. She regularly quotes Dr. Russell Barkley's work on ADHD, which is heavily medical model with a bioessentialist flare (ie. ADHD causes alcoholism, car crashes, etc). As opposed to, this world is not set up in a way that most ADHDers and other ND people can thrive, which causes trauma and all sorts of unhealthy coping mechanisms.

I was hoping for a lot more of the neurodiversity paradigm in this book. Overall, I found it interesting, but I won't be recommending it except perhaps for the very specific tips sections.

I wavered between ratings of three or four stars on this book. I do think it's well written and will resonate with a lot of people. For me personally, this book would get three stars, but I'm bumping it up to four because it is still one of the better ADHD books out there. Most of them are very heavily pathology paradigm, and this one at least brings in a lot of lived experience both from McCabe and many other ADHDers.

I'm hopeful that we will see more ADHD books based in the neurodiversity paradigm soon. I also recognize that many ADHDers do have significant struggles and may have internalized messages about all of their "areas of deficit." This book might be just what they need.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rodale Books for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.