The best books to help you get the most out of your ADHD

Why am I passionate about this?

Inspired both by my marriage to someone with ADHD as well as my own neurodiversity, I have been researching this topic for the last 15 years. As a collegiate athlete and stimulation seeker myself, my doctoral dissertation explored the impact of HIIT exercise on symptom presentation in adults with ADHD, and the results were inspiring. I truly believe that with the right set of tools and supports, those with ADHD can be the driving force behind humanity's many accomplishments. This belief also informs my strength-based counseling approach with those who have ADHD that I am honored to continue working with throughout their own self-empowerment journeys.  


I wrote...

Powered by ADHD: Strategies and Exercises for Women to Harness Their Untapped Gifts

By Amelia Kelley,

Book cover of Powered by ADHD: Strategies and Exercises for Women to Harness Their Untapped Gifts

What is my book about?

Backed by the latest research on the benefits that exist with having ADHD, it is a practical road map for women to take charge and harness their enormous strengths and talents. With more than 20 years of experience working with neurodivergence, Dr. Amelia Kelley offers guidance, skills, and tools that emphasize flexibility and self-compassion to help women develop a positive self-image and see immediate results in all areas of life.

Powered by ADHD includes how to effectively use ADHD strengths to increase productivity and accomplish goals, real-life adult ADHD challenges, clear strategic solutions for key areas of a woman’s life—work, home, relationships, finance, motherhood/caretaking—and step-by-step and easy-to-follow exercises designed to work with and for the ADHD brain.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of ADHD is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD

Amelia Kelley Why did I love this book?

I loved what Penn and Kim Holderness have done with this book because, as someone in an ADHD marriage, it was refreshing to hear honest (and at times humorous) accounts of how ADHD can impact marriage and how it can also, when given the right support, enhance relationships.

I also appreciate the strength-based perspective to living with and excelling with ADHD, even for all the frustrations and difficulties it can cause in our lives. Readers really do walk away feeling they, too, are awesome because of their unique brains rather than just someone with a diagnosis that needs to be fixed. 

By Penn Holderness, Kim Holderness,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked ADHD is Awesome as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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…


Book cover of How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It)

Amelia Kelley Why did I love this book?

I first found Jessica Mccabe’s YouTube channel (How to ADHD) when I was researching for my own book and was drawn to how well-researched yet funny and relatable her content was about the topic. I had hoped her book would offer the same energy, and it truly did not disappoint. Especially listening to it on audible, she was brutally honest and authentic in sharing her experience of being diagnosed with ADHD as a female and how it impacted her in most areas of her life.

Her practical answers to many of the ADHD life problems (a result of executive functioning woes) provided so many wonderful ideas for my own life as well as ways to support clients I work with. I love the community she is creating of ADHD “brains,” and I would highly recommend her book to complement her wildly successful YouTube channel.

By Jessica McCabe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to ADHD as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

***THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER***

'Jessica McCabe changed my life for the better with her kind, bright and thoroughly researched ADHD videos - and now with her book, she just might change yours too' KAT BROWN, AUTHOR OF IT'S NOT A BLOODY TREND: UNDERSTANDING LIFE AS AN ADHD ADULT

'The world of ADHD has been waiting for this book' DR EDWARD HALLOWELL, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING CO-AUTHOR OF ADHD 2.0 AND DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION

**From the host and creator of the award-winning HOW TO ADHD YouTube channel**

In How to ADHD, Jessica McCabe reveals the insights and tools that have…


Book cover of ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World

Amelia Kelley Why did I love this book?

I always felt that those with ADHD were not disordered but rather unique brains that sometimes struggled in the current highly stimulating yet sometimes sedentary modern world we live in. When I came across this book, I felt as if all my ideas had been synthesized into one comprehensive and truly revolutionary piece of literature that outlines the biology, history, and research behind why this is correct.

The author lays out why ADHD should not be considered a form of dysfunction or disorder but rather a subset of people who are “hunters in a farmer’s world.”

This book also helped me understand why some vocational tests, academic expectations, and societal norms do not support the unique ADHD brain and why thinking outside the box and asking what the powerful ADHD brain can offer our society has the potential to benefit us all.  

By Thom Hartmann,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked ADHD as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A newly revised and updated edition of the classic guide to reframing our view of ADHD and embracing its benefits

* Explains that people with ADHD are not disordered or dysfunctional, but simply "hunters in a farmer's world"--possessing a unique mental skill set that would have allowed them to thrive in a hunter-gatherer society

* Offers concrete non-drug methods and practices to help hunters--and their parents, teachers, and managers--embrace their differences, nurture creativity, and find success in school, at work, and at home

* Reveals how some of the world's most successful people can be labeled as ADHD hunters, including…


Book cover of The ADHD Effect on Marriage: Understand and Rebuild Your Relationship in Six Steps

Amelia Kelley Why did I love this book?

As someone in an ADHD marriage myself and a therapist who supports couples in these marriages, I was looking for a book to help all of us. This book hit the bill. I loved how simple yet actionable it was. I felt like the author was sympathetic and compassionate but also had the ability to cut through the difficult topics and help both the partner with and without ADHD see their part in the equation.

I really appreciated how she not only kept the partner with ADHD accountable for their use of coping skills but also how she highlighted the impact unhealthy expectations from the non-ADHD partner can have and how important compassion and teamwork were. I found many of the ADHD partners I was working with having “aha” moments about things that had frustrated them in the past.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has recently found out their or their partner has ADHD or for those who have known for some time but are looking to improve the health of their relationship.

By Melissa C. Orlov,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The ADHD Effect on Marriage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Updated in 2020! invaluable resource for couples in which one or both partners have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), this authoritative book guides troubled partners towards an understanding and appreciation for the struggles and triumphs of a relationship affected by it, and to integrate ADHD into their relationship in a more positive and less disruptive way. Going beyond traditional marriage counseling which can often discount the influence of ADHD, this discussion offers advice from the author's personal experience and years of research and identifies patterns of behavior that can hurt marriages-such as nagging, intimacy problems, sudden anger, and memory issues-through…


Book cover of Your Life Can Be Better: using strategies for adult ADHD

Amelia Kelley Why did I love this book?

I stumbled on this book when trying to help my husband, who has ADHD, find some actionable coping skills. This book was so different from others I had encountered, and I loved it for exactly that reason. Written by an MD who was diagnosed later, the author shared real-life scenarios and difficulties he had experienced his entire life that he had never known were attributed to his unique brain.

I enjoyed how the author offered short, entertaining, and memorable accounts of his experiences. Simple things like “rulemaking” or understanding struggles with visual cues (ie. looking right at the condiment in the refrigerator but not seeing it because it was not where it was meant to be) were just some of the relatable examples he provided about what it was like to struggle with executive functioning with ADHD.

I would highly recommend this book to someone who wants to feel like they are sitting down with a friend and figure out what they can do to improve their own life with ADHD.

By Douglas A. Puryear,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Your Life Can Be Better as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ADHD causes us many problems and make our lives harder. This book focuses on strategies that will make your life easier and better.

I’m a psychiatrist who has ADHD. I’m going to share with you some of the ways I’ve learned to cope with my ADHD problems. I’ll also share with you some coping strategies from my friends and some from my patients with ADHD. I’ll also share some of the ways that we’re still not coping so well.

Unlike most books on ADHD, the focus of this book is on strategies; strategies that will make your life easier.
The…


You might also like...

Thorn City

By Pamela Statz,

Book cover of Thorn City

Pamela Statz

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Dressed to kill and ready to make rent, best friends Lisa and Jamie work as “paid to party” girls at the Rose City Ripe for Disruption gala, a gathering of Portland's elite.

Their evening is derailed when Lisa stumbles across Ellen, a ruthless politician and Lisa’s estranged mother. And to make matters worse, Lisa’s boyfriend, Patrick, crashes the party to meet his new boss, Portland's food cart drug kingpin. Lisa makes a fateful choice that traps her, Jamie, and Patrick in Ellen’s web. In this gripping thriller, Lisa must reconcile a painful past and perilous present.

Thorn City

By Pamela Statz,

What is this book about?

Suspected murder, eclectic food trucks, and artisanal cocaine: just another day in Thorn City.

It’s the night of the Rose City Ripe for Disruption gala—a gathering of Portland’s elite. Dressed to kill in sparkling minidresses, best friends Lisa and Jamie attend as “paid to party” girls. They plan an evening of fake flirtations, karaoke playlists, and of course, grazing the catering.

Past and present collide when Lisa stumbles across Ellen, a ruthless politician who also happens to be Lisa’s estranged mother. Awkward . . . When Lisa was sixteen, Ellen had her kidnapped and taken to the Lost Lake Academy—a…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in ADHD, coaching, and executive function?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about ADHD, coaching, and executive function.

ADHD Explore 39 books about ADHD
Coaching Explore 16 books about coaching
Executive Function Explore 6 books about executive function