ADHD is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD by Penn and Kim Holderness is, in fact, awesome. The audiobook is a riot!

I downloaded it for research and had no idea it would be so entertaining. Yes, it’s informative and eye-opening, but it’s also hilarious, wildly creative, and fascinating in unexpected ways. I especially enjoyed Penn and Kim’s conversation about competing in the Amazing Race. They talk about how specific tasks were easy for Penn with his ADHD but incredibly stressful for Kim with her anxiety, and vice versa.

The book is packed with advice that covers all angles—whether you’re trying to make sense of a new diagnosis for yourself or better understand a loved one. It’s also crammed with personal stories that came alive for me.

Overall, the book is very much Penn’s story. He stresses, numerous times, that he has no medical background, and his knowledge of ADHD comes from firsthand experience.

He reiterates that ADHD manifests differently in everyone. There is no one-size-fits-all template. (I loved that parallel with OCD.) He also mentions that medication didn’t work for him, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work for you.

While highlighting proven strategies that can help ADHDers navigate the world, Penn and Kim include a ton of advice from experts in the field, some of whom live with ADHD and were interviewed for the book.

The sections written for parents of ADHD children resonated with my experiences of helping our son navigate middle and high school with chronic OCD. I even mades notes—for him and myself—on how Kim tackles Penn’s ‘Doom Groove’ of negativity that comes from over-scheduling and being overwhelmed.

My take? This book has the power to help you better understand anyone with a neurodivergent brain. Plus, it’s fun.