ADHD and Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table by Blake E. S. Taylor | eBook

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.

Library Journal

In this memoir of life with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 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. He is a recent high school graduate, and part of the allure of his account is in finding out how someone with ADHD managed to write a book in the first place. Each chapter covers specific issues such as being bullied, getting organized, and feeling isolated. After relating a personal experience and his handling of it, Taylor advises readers on what to do should they find themselves in the same place. He also shares his perspective on coping with ADHD and speaks to what can be learned. The foreword by Lara Honos-Webb (The Gift of ADHD: How To Transform Your Child's Problems into Strengths) supports Taylor's central theme that while ADHD needs to be recognized and treated, it does not entirely define a person, whose strengths should be recognized. Students struggling with ADHD and their parents will benefit from the author's insights. Recommended for public and high school libraries.
—Lisa M. Jordan

School Library Journal

Adult/High School -Readers looking for inside information about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder need look no further. In a straightforward, simple manner, Taylor describes how he has lived successfully for 18 years with ADHD. He opens with a painful memory of being tied to a chair with a bungee cord in order to sit still long enough to eat his dinner. Each chapter begins with a recollection of a different period in his life, how his ADHD framed it, and what he learned from the experience that helped him develop the skills to achieve, and ends with a list of "solutions." What makes these practical tips particularly useful is that they are recommendations that Taylor has used. He includes suggestions for dealing with distraction, hyperactivity, and bullies. He also addresses making friends; staying organized; and coping with discrimination, social anxiety, and rules. It is obvious that the author, a college freshman, had great parental and medical support throughout his childhood; it was sad to read that some of his dealings with the educational community were less positive.-Joanne Ligamari, Rio Linda School District, Sacramento, CA

From the Publisher

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

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

ADHD and Me: What I Learned from Lighting Fires at the Dinner Table

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