Over the course of recent months, my therapist has mentioned a few times how she thinks I may have ADHD, and it’s seeming increasingly clear that this is the case. Honestly, I’ve met so many people with ADHD, and had some foggy image of what it is, but I also don’t think that I really got it.

Barkley’s book here is a primer–it’s really designed for those who know nothing about ADHD, and the tone of the book is remarkably light.

The text is divided into a few steps–diagnosis, medication, strategies, and so on. Barkley’s view is that medicine is the single most important tool for bringing ADHD under control, and everything else is useful to supplement it. If I remember right, he says somewhere near the beginning of the book that later strategies may not work well at all without being medicated.

In Barkley’s view, ADHD is essentially a disorder of two things: time blindness and executive function. The chapter on the multitude of executive function was especially enlightening, and I have a really hard time with this.

At the end of the book, he discusses the ways in which ADHD appears in various aspects of life, as well as how it might be brought under better control. I think that my ADHD had gone invisible for years, as I’ve long been a hard worker and intelligent enough. Even so, I had trouble turning in assignments in high school. Where I really see my ADHD appears is in the workplace, and it is the most unbearable, intolerable challenge of existence for me. I’ve also seen it appear in my relationship, especially early on, but I was able to bring it under control in ways that I haven’t been able to in other areas.

All said, this is a good primer on ADHD, but it sacrifices depth. For those wondering if they have ADHD, this might be a good first step, as it is illuminating. I just wish it was more.