There are so many books that I want to introduce to you because they have changed my purpose on this planet.

Instead, I am presenting my bookshelf for you to peruse.

This does not mean that we need to have the same opinion. I welcome all versions of understanding and encourage you to share yours with me.

If you see something you like, email me. I would enjoy a conversation about any of them. Especially the ones you are interested in…

The top shelf are my current favorite theories on ADHD…

This book is a stark realization that we are not paying enough attention to the ways we are maladapting.

• A growing number of boys are unmotivated and adrift.

• Modern education is poorly suited to boys’ developmental pace and learning styles.

• Video games offer an addictive, artificial world that displaces real-world drive.

• Over-prescription of stimulant medications may damage boys’ motivation centers.

• The decline of positive male role models leaves boys without guidance.

• Then each of these topics are addressed from a counter standpoint and how to cultivate positive change.

Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax

“Fantastic, engaging and detailed view into life with ADHD. If you’ve ever been curious about what it’s like… this book is for you.”

~Leah Hanlin Review

• Humorous, uplifting insights to life with ADHD

• Evidence-based myth busters with a positive spin on ADHD

• Comical writing, real-life scenarios unpacked

This book is a heavier read as trauma lends itself to pain. It happens less quickly and feels difficult regardless of when you “plan it.” Not surprisingly, like trauma processing.

I use this book frequently to describe the importance of processing trauma in the body when people have already tried talk therapy. Talk therapy is only half of the battle.

• Fight-or-Flight response breakdown

• How stress hormones affect the body and brain

• How hyperarousal keeps us frozen in the trauma

“Trauma rewires the brain to cause people to be hypervigilant to threats and repeat the same mistakes, seemingly compulsively,” ~Bessel van der Kolk

Practical everyday solutions and systems that can help the ADHD brain organize including

• Techniques to support task completion

• Systems for minimizing cognitive disrupts

• Ideas for organizing your home, your schedule, and thus your life more effectively.

This work began with teenage girls experiencing disordered eating. Dr. Schwartz recognized that the contractual agreement approach to healing was largely not working.

This is a nice introduction to his approach coined Internal Family Systems which

• theorizes that we are all made up of a network of interconnected or disconnected parts,

• upholds the idea that even the most maladapted parts of ourselves are attempting to protect us, and

• that giving space and time to these parts can unburden them from a lifetime of pain and bring them into the now where they can thrive

No Bad Parts Book Summary

This book is packed with visuals to help support the internalization of a rather in-depth description of

• a unique mapping process designed to effectively track autonomic response patterns

• exercises that have been created to engage our regulating capacities of the ventral vagal system, and

• tools to help clients reshape their autonomic nervous systems.

An actionable book to pair with this one, to create a routine for regulating the parasympathetic system is Deb Dana’s, Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection.

Befriending Your Nervous System Through Polyvagal Theory

This book I recommend for a deep dive into trauma. This is not an easy book to read. It covers complex topics including the

• psychological effects of trauma

• the stages of recovery from trauma, and

• the impact of societal structures on individual trauma

Truth and Repair: How trauma survivors envision justice with Judith Herman M.D.

A controversial perspective on how ADHD comes to be with a nature versus nurture debate.

“I believe that ADHD can be better understood if we examine people’s lives, not only bits of DNA.” Gabor Mate

• Childhood stress prevents us from developing the necessary emotional-cognitive capacities to thrive.

• Non-pharmaceutical interventions to minimizing ADHD symptoms including attachment

• Theories on how to decrease the number of individuals living with ADHD in future generations.

This book aims to guide readers toward effectively navigating ADHD through

• understanding,

• appropriately diagnosing, and

• managing symptoms

with a combination of medical, psychological, and practical interventions, I like this book because it is written from a medical professionals perspective, not strictly the mental health angle.

A similar unpacking is available in ADHD 2.0 also written by John Ratey, MD and Edward Hallowell, MD

The Truth About ADHD with Dr. John Ratey

This modality was created to address children’s unique presentations of trauma.

It has since been expanded upon to serve adolescents and adults based on its incredibly effective results in a short period of time.

This book explains

An overview of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

• the psychological effects of grief and loss, and

• how to support individuals from an informed standpoint as to not retraumatize them.

I am a certified TF-CBT Therapist, and you can find my name along with hundreds of others here.