When writer Carla Ciccone was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at 39, she went through a range of emotions: fear, anger, disappointment, self-recognition. She catalogs this in Nowhere Girl: Life as a Member of ADHD's Lost Generation, skillfully placing her own experience in a larger historical, scientific, and cultural context. Ciccone's smart, compelling memoir is sure to appeal to anyone living with ADHD--whether themselves or someone they love.
Ciccone highlights how many of the late-diagnosed women she interviewed saw their issues "compounded" by the complexities of adulthood. As a result, she argues, "We got used to being, and feeling, invisible." This invisibility, which manifests in research and everyday life, is the central reason why Ciccone dubbed this group of women "Nowhere Girls."
Using her personal story as an entry point, Ciccone recalls childhood scoldings, struggles in school, adolescent risk-taking behavior, and eventually, the constant, berating monologue in her head that helped her "get shit done" while it "hid the war within [her] under a veneer of togetherness." She examines the gender bias at play in ADHD studies and diagnoses; how the expectation of productivity can warp one's self-worth; and the experiences of other Nowhere Girls in navigating their "emotional reframing" as adults. But it's not all bad news, she promises: "We're here, we're weird, and we're healing." Nowhere Girl is an important volume in that restorative process, offering insight, encouragement, and celebration to other Nowhere Girls. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer and fellow "Nowhere Girl"