Monday, July 29, 2019

CONNECTING THE DOTS by Gabriella West


Title:  CONNECTING THE DOTS: MY MIDLIFE JOURNEY WITH ADULT AD/HD

Author:  Gabriella West

Narrator:  Daniela Acitelli

Length:  1 hour 1 minute

Audible Release Date:  01.30.2019

Publisher:  Gabriella West

Publish Date:   06.15.2013

Category /Genre:  Personal Memoirs

Listenability:  OK  or  NSFW

Received from:  Gabriella West (as an Audible gifted copy)

Goodreads link: Connecting the Dots

Date completed: 07.23.2019



Description from the publisher:

Most of us have heard of ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), so why is it so common for women not to be diagnosed until they are in midlife?  While boys manifest their ADHD in hyperactive behaviors, female sufferers tend to internalize their symptoms, contending with anxiety, depression, demoralization, and self-esteem issues.  Because of this, a woman's diagnosis often comes later on, with the realization that she is just not coping with life, work, and relationships as well as she should be.  She's not meeting anyone's expectations, certainly not her own.  So much has been discovered in the last 10 years about ADHD in girls and women, but a lot of it's still not commonly known.  Awareness of your symptoms is the key to change, and it all begins with self-awareness.



Novelist Gabriella West is refreshingly candid about her journey towards a diagnosis of ADHD, which started a few years ago when she encouraged her female partner to get a diagnosis.  She uncovers a family history of the disorder, looking back at her own mother's life as a divorced American in Ireland in the 1970s.  In Connecting the Dots, she highlights common symptoms that women with inattentive-type ADHD experience, and shows that although getting a diagnosis is not necessarily easy, the relief of finding an explanation for things that previously just seemed "wrong" is enormous and healing.

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I don’t often read non-fiction, but this one caught my interest, starting with the cover.  Let’s face it – the combat boots tied like pink ballet slippers have a weird discordance that captures the imagination.



As a woman who is often pulled in so many directions, I wonder if I may have ADHD or am I just busy.  This book won’t give you any answers.  However, it may lead you to seek answers.



If you have been diagnosed, what you will find is a sister… a friend… someone to tell you that what you are feeling is normal, you are okay… and she is right.



Narration:  Daniela Acitelli is a good narrator with a friendly voice.  I had to remind myself that it wasn’t the author herself speaking to me.



Note:  While I received this book as a gifted audiobook copy, my opinions are my own and are given freely.



Also from Gabriella West:

·         10 Frightening New Facts About Sugar

·         The Captain and Claire

·         Connecting the Dots: My Midlife Journey with Adult AD/HD

·         The Doge’s Daughter

·         Dorothy Richardson: A Close Reading

·         Is ADHD Caused by Diet?: The Food Dye Problem

·         It’s Not You, It’s Me

·         The Leaving

·         That Lonely Sinking Feeling

·         Night Train to Florence

·         Take That, You Scaredy-Cat!

·         Tangled in Blood (Time Dance #2)

·         Time of Grace

·         Toward the Double Rainbow

·         The Truth about Jack and Ray

Elsie Street series:

1.      Elsie Street

2.      The Pull of Yesterday

Knight’s Tale series:

1.      Kenilworth

2.      Montagis

 
















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