Kate Kelly (1) (1950–)

Updated 08/16/2015

What you will find:
Start with page 4, "How to Read this Book". The book has 16 Chapters - do not stress out ADD/ADHD readers! There are nice large headings and organized topics that the reader can just bounce to and independently of the surrounding content.

Chapters 1-4 are about awareness and diagnosis.
Chapters 5-10 deal with social and cultural issues including gender and sexual issues.
Chapters 11-15 discuss mental processing and coping skills
Chapter 16 provides a guide on ways for ADD/ADHD readers to begin to take action
Included are: Web based resources, print resources, and a good index

The books is promoted within the "self help" genre. With that in mind, it is a relief that the authors derive their narrative from a sense of community instead of the cult of personality of the authors. Kelly and Ramundo both openly report their own ADD, are educated, and active in the ADD community. There is a clear path that the authors' provide to the collective experience and research in the ADD/ADHD community even if this is not a scholarly work. The resources offered in the book are reputable and useful.

This book is set up for ADD/ADHD readers as a tool rather than demanding readers to follow the authors in a linear track. "You mean I'm Not Lazy..." reads more like a guide and allows the reader to maintain self determination in regard to its contents.

Why 4 stars?
This book does reveal the authors' understanding of how their work fits within the field; however it is reasonable to ask the authors to do more to bring in resources with more scientific research to back up their claims. It is clear that the references are presented as resources rather than demonstrating scholarly research methods. I limited the deduction to one star because the contents of the book are good for the self-help genre. But, like we are asking for better food labeling, I want to see better research when it comes to the care of our mental/psychological health.
[For a book comparison, see my 1/2 star review of Embracing A.D.D. by Lynn Weiss, PhD. at http://www.librarything.com/work/16155565/reviews/120329397]

Personally:
After years of half-joking about having an attention disorder, I finally started looking for a good resource for adults with ADD/ADHD. Kelly and Ramundo's book is the first one that really reached me and made sense. Two years after reading the book, I was formally diagnosed while working on my first graduate degree and I have kept this book as a helpful and practical resource.… (más)