ADHD Is Awesome

A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving with ADHD

By: Penn Holderness, Kim Holderness, Edward Hallowell - foreword

Narrated by: Penn Holderness, Kim Holderness, Nathan Rosborough, Ann Marie Taepke, Tyrrell Harrell, Lola Holderness

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Read by the authors.

The engaging, uplifting antidote to traditional ADHD books (which, let's be honest, if you have ADHD you'd never read anyway).

You live in a world that wasn't designed for you. A world where you're expected to sit still, stay quiet, and focus. Because of the way your brain is wired, you can feel like you’re failing at life. But you are not failing. You are awesome.

Award-winning content creators Kim and Penn Holderness are on a mission to reboot how we think about the unfortunately named "attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder." As always, they are doing it by looking in the mirror, because they don't just study ADHD; they live it.

Penn was in college when he was diagnosed with ADHD, although the signs of having a brain that worked just a little bit differently had been there since he was a kid. Rather than view the diagnosis as a curse or give in to feelings of inadequacy or failure, he took a different approach, one that he wants to share with fellow ADHDers and the people who care about them.

Drawing on their often-hilarious insights and the expertise of doctors, researchers, and specialists; Kim and Penn provide fun, easy-to-digest advice and explanations, including:

• What it's actually like to live with an ADHD brain.
• How to find humor in the pitfalls, sob stories, and unbelievable triumphs (like the time they won The Amazing Race!) that come with ADHD.
• How to tackle the challenges ADHD presents with a positive outlook.
• Targeted tools and techniques to play to your unique strengths.
• Fun extras like ADHD Bingo, an ode to cargo pants, and what the world would look like if ADHDers were in charge.

Take it from Penn: Having ADHD can be scary, but it comes with incredible upsides, including creativity, hyperfocus, and energy. You might even say it's kind of awesome. Whether you have ADHD or want to support someone else in their journey, this is the guide you need to make the life you want.

©2024 Penn Holderness and Kim Holderness (P)2024 Harper Horizon

great read!!

I really enjoyed this book. I relate so much to Penn and all the things he has acknowledged in this book. Great tips and references in this book. i am going to buy a copy of this book bc I liked it so much.

Love this book but

I bought a physical copy of the book so it isn’t a big deal for me. But, there is no PDF or, at the very least, I can’t find it.

Amazing!

With ADHD it is super hard for me to listen or read through a whole book. I just started counting my audible library and stopped counting at 14 half read books (there’s more, I just gave up on counting).

This book is so good! The banter back and forth between Penn and Kim keeps the ADHD brain engaged and entertaining and wanting more! Not only did I finish this book!! Yay! I finished it in 3 days because I didn’t want to put it down!! So good! I highly recommend this for the ADHDer and their partners to listen together! I’ll be listening again with my non-ADHD husband so he can better understand me!

Mahalo Penn & Kim!! Amazing work!!

Heartfelt and easy to understand!

This was so much fun and eye opening. I admit I thought ADHD was just little boys being obnoxious in class, not sitting still, being disruptive. Now I know there's a spectrum, and there are a lot of reasons behind everything.

Penn and Kim are wonderful and cozy. They are open and honest about the struggles, and super powers, and how Penn's support team -- namely Kim -- understandably can't always hold it together and be patient.

I love this book and recommend it to EVERYONE, even if you don't have ADHA or a family member or friend with ADHD. Chances are, you will interact or work or volunteer with someone with ADHD, and this book explains so much!

Amazing insight!

This book should be read by every parent, grandparent, sibling, teacher and kid with any interaction with someone who has ADHD. The audiobook was like having a conversation with Penn and Kim and I purchased the book as well. I only wish I had this when my son, who is now 36, was young. It would have helped me understand so much. Though he is on a different spectrum as Penn, he is not an extrovert and is one who struggles with jobs and relationships and in order to feel ‘social’ would depend on alcohol, which praise God he has been sober for over 3 years, this book was invaluable. The low self esteem and feelings of being a failure and letting people down is so real and hurts a mom’s heart so much with no idea how to help. This book gave me insight on dealing with what can be so very frustrating.
Thank you Penn and Kim, I have loved watching you on social media and respect and admire you even more now. You are hope-givers!

ADHD *IS* Awesome. And so is this book!

This book is so incredibly validating. The way it feels like my experience growing up undiagnosed was so perfectly captured, the relief of finally getting diagnosed, and now the really incredible (though also sometimes soul-wearying) process of embracing the strengths of my differently-wired brain… I felt this healing wave wash through me that felt like for the first time… I’m not alone. I’m not some “other” who is broken and should be ashamed. This book brings such peace, and I feel like EVERYONE should read this. It helps to give a better understanding of neurodiversity and I guarantee that there is someone you know and love that has ADHD and is suffering in silence. Maybe by reading this, you can help them to know that they are awesome, too, and that who they are is worthy of love and of being seen.

Excellent resource for and ADHEer and for parents/spouses of ADHDers!

This book is written in a way that is easy to read and understand. The reading of the book is informative while still being entertaining. Highly recommend!

I literally just learned more about myself than I did in a year of therapy

guys, I can't even lie to you. I'm not even finished with this book. I'm halfway through. I was driving down the road listening to it with tears in my eyes. just to hear somebody else talk about all the things I go through all the time

Performance

It's okay, we're all different, but.... the performance is cringe. It's just a little to dorky for me. The information was all great but makes it seem like people with ADHD are just giant dorks. The humor is terribly adolescent and clean. religious humor if you will

this book made me feel seen as both a parent and teacher.

absolutely amazing. this book made me feel seen as both a parent and teacher.