98 books like Your Life Can Be Better

By Douglas A. Puryear,

Here are 98 books that Your Life Can Be Better fans have personally recommended if you like Your Life Can Be Better. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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

Amelia Kelley Author Of Powered by ADHD: Strategies and Exercises for Women to Harness Their Untapped Gifts

From my list on 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.  

Amelia's book list on get the most out of your ADHD

Amelia Kelley Why did Amelia 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 Author Of Powered by ADHD: Strategies and Exercises for Women to Harness Their Untapped Gifts

From my list on 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.  

Amelia's book list on get the most out of your ADHD

Amelia Kelley Why did Amelia 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 Author Of Powered by ADHD: Strategies and Exercises for Women to Harness Their Untapped Gifts

From my list on 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.  

Amelia's book list on get the most out of your ADHD

Amelia Kelley Why did Amelia 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 Author Of Powered by ADHD: Strategies and Exercises for Women to Harness Their Untapped Gifts

From my list on 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.  

Amelia's book list on get the most out of your ADHD

Amelia Kelley Why did Amelia 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…

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 Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide to Assessment and Intervention

Rebecca Branstetter Author Of The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Executive Functioning Disorder: Strategies to help your child achieve the time-management skills, ... needed to succeed in school and life

From my list on helping children with ADHD with executive function.

Why am I passionate about this?

Is there a Japanese or Dutch word for "One who loves to geek out on organizational strategies, productivity (and post-its) SO MUCH they focus their career on it?" If there is, um......that's me. I'm Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, and I've been a school psychologist and collector of practical strategies to support students with executive functioning challenges for over 20 years. As the author of The Everything Parents Guide to Executive Functioning and creator of the “How to Teach Children and Teens Executive Functioning Skills” masterclass, my passion is to help kids figure out how they learn, what's getting in the way of their potential, and what to do about it!

Rebecca's book list on helping children with ADHD with executive function

Rebecca Branstetter Why did Rebecca love this book?

I love a book you can pick up and use right away with students with ADHD and executive functioning, which is why I love this book. Filled with practical and easy photocopying, there’s great reproducible forms and handouts. Great for educators and mental health professionals!

By Peg Dawson, Richard Guare,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

More than 100,000 school practitioners and teachers (K-12) have benefited from the step-by-step guidelines and practical tools in this influential go-to resource, now revised and expanded with six new chapters. The third edition presents effective ways to assess students' strengths and weaknesses, create supportive instructional environments, and promote specific skills, such as organization, time management, sustained attention, and emotional control. Strategies for individualized and classwide intervention are illustrated with vivid examples and sample scripts. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 38 reproducible forms and handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download…


Book cover of The Classroom Mystery: A Book about ADHD

Rebecca Branstetter Author Of The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Executive Functioning Disorder: Strategies to help your child achieve the time-management skills, ... needed to succeed in school and life

From my list on helping children with ADHD with executive function.

Why am I passionate about this?

Is there a Japanese or Dutch word for "One who loves to geek out on organizational strategies, productivity (and post-its) SO MUCH they focus their career on it?" If there is, um......that's me. I'm Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, and I've been a school psychologist and collector of practical strategies to support students with executive functioning challenges for over 20 years. As the author of The Everything Parents Guide to Executive Functioning and creator of the “How to Teach Children and Teens Executive Functioning Skills” masterclass, my passion is to help kids figure out how they learn, what's getting in the way of their potential, and what to do about it!

Rebecca's book list on helping children with ADHD with executive function

Rebecca Branstetter Why did Rebecca love this book?

This picture book for elementary-aged students is a great one because it helps shift the focus of ADHD as a “deficit” to a potential strength. I’m a big believer in educating children with ADHD and executive functioning about how their brain works differently, which can sometimes be a good thing! This book can be read to students with or without ADHD and includes a page of discussion questions to build awareness and empathy for students with ADHD.

By Tracy Packiam Alloway, Ana Sanfelippo (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Classroom Mystery as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Someone has been stealing food from Snowball, the classroom pet bunny! Can Izzy use her SEN Superpowers to track down the culprit and save the day? SEN Superpowers: The Classroom Mystery explores the topic of ADHD with an empowering story and adorable illustrations.

The SEN Superpowers series celebrates the positive traits associated with a range of common SEN (Special Education Needs) conditions, boosting the confidence and strength-awareness of children with those conditions, while also allowing for better understanding and positivity among their peers. Each book includes a page of discussion points about the story, a page of tips for how…


Book cover of Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick!: Practical Activities to Help Your Child Manage Emotions, Navigate Social Situations & Reduce Anxiety

Rebecca Branstetter Author Of The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Executive Functioning Disorder: Strategies to help your child achieve the time-management skills, ... needed to succeed in school and life

From my list on helping children with ADHD with executive function.

Why am I passionate about this?

Is there a Japanese or Dutch word for "One who loves to geek out on organizational strategies, productivity (and post-its) SO MUCH they focus their career on it?" If there is, um......that's me. I'm Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, and I've been a school psychologist and collector of practical strategies to support students with executive functioning challenges for over 20 years. As the author of The Everything Parents Guide to Executive Functioning and creator of the “How to Teach Children and Teens Executive Functioning Skills” masterclass, my passion is to help kids figure out how they learn, what's getting in the way of their potential, and what to do about it!

Rebecca's book list on helping children with ADHD with executive function

Rebecca Branstetter Why did Rebecca love this book?

So often, executive functioning challenges like impulse control, difficulties with attention, and trouble with organization are thought of as isolated skills to be taught as an “add on” lesson. However, there are easy ways to teach executive functioning skills as an “add IN” to what parents and educators are already doing throughout the day. I recommend this book because it helps teach executive functioning in everyday routines, like cooking, going to the store, and on the playground. I really love the colorful and ready-to-use pages in this book! The author also sells a really cool card deck you can get to take with you “on the go” to boost not only executive functioning but also emotional regulation and social communication.

By Elizabeth Sautter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Mom’s Choice Award winner, Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick! Practical activities to help your child manage their emotions, navigate social situations and decrease anxiety, Expanded and Updated, (black and white version!) has helped thousands of families boost emotional regulation, executive functioning, social communication, reduce anxiety, and so much more!

Does your child struggle to have meaningful connections, navigate social situations, and communicate with others?

Learn how to support them so that they can build on their strengths and interests to feel confident and connected in social relationships and situations.

Does your child experience high levels of anxiety or…


Book cover of Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them

Rebecca Branstetter Author Of The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Executive Functioning Disorder: Strategies to help your child achieve the time-management skills, ... needed to succeed in school and life

From my list on helping children with ADHD with executive function.

Why am I passionate about this?

Is there a Japanese or Dutch word for "One who loves to geek out on organizational strategies, productivity (and post-its) SO MUCH they focus their career on it?" If there is, um......that's me. I'm Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, and I've been a school psychologist and collector of practical strategies to support students with executive functioning challenges for over 20 years. As the author of The Everything Parents Guide to Executive Functioning and creator of the “How to Teach Children and Teens Executive Functioning Skills” masterclass, my passion is to help kids figure out how they learn, what's getting in the way of their potential, and what to do about it!

Rebecca's book list on helping children with ADHD with executive function

Rebecca Branstetter Why did Rebecca love this book?

I’ve been a huge fan of Ross Greene’s work for a long time because he is changing the way parents and educators look at children with behavioral challenges. His powerful motto, “Kids do well when they can” is a call for teaching lagging executive skills, instead of punishing kids for having executive functioning challenges. Instead of thinking of a child with ADHD as being a “behavior problem” or “unmotivated”, Dr. Greene's Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach helps parents and educators focus on the true factors contributing to challenging behaviors, empowering educators to address these factors and create helping relationships with their most at-risk kids.

By Ross W. Greene,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the renowned authority on education and parenting, “an in-depth approach to aid parents and teachers to work together with behaviorally challenging students” (Publishers Weekly)—now revised and updated.

School discipline is broken. Too often, the kids who need our help the most are viewed as disrespectful, out of control, and beyond help, and are often the recipients of our most ineffective, most punitive interventions. These students—and their parents, teachers, and administrators—are frustrated and desperate for answers.

Dr. Ross W. Greene, author of the acclaimed book The Explosive Child, offers educators and parents a different framework for understanding challenging behavior. Dr.…


Book cover of Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life

Alyssa Campbell Author Of Tiny Humans, Big Emotions: How to Navigate Tantrums, Meltdowns, and Defiance to Raise Emotionally Intelligent Children

From my list on raising emotionally intelligent humans.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been drawn to babies and toddlers and fascinated by the development that happens in the early years of life. This fascination led me to become a teacher, parent, and emotional development expert with a master's degree in early childhood education. Eventually, my passion for this field led me to co-create the Collaborative Emotion Processing method and research it nationwide. The research results were compelling, and so began my mission to share it with the world.

Alyssa's book list on raising emotionally intelligent humans

Alyssa Campbell Why did Alyssa love this book?

I love this book because it changed my entire outlook on behavior. It helped me understand the relationship between nervous system regulation and emotional regulation.

It helped me identify the underlying needs that drive the challenging behaviors we see in childhood. It changed the game for me as a parent and teacher.

By Stuart Shanker,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Self-Reg as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There's no such thing as a bad kid. That's what a lifetime of experience has taught Dr. Stuart Shanker. No matter how difficult, out of control, distracted, or exhausted a child might seem, there's a way forward: self-regulation. Overturning decades of conventional wisdom, this radical new technique allows children and the adults who care for them to regain their composure and peace of mind.

Self-Reg is a groundbreaking book that presents an entirely new understanding of your child's emotions and behavior and a practical guide for parents to help their kids engage calmly and successfully in learning and life. Grounded…


Book cover of Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention

Annie Fox Author Of Teaching Kids to Be Good People: Progressive Parenting for the 21st Century

From my list on helping kids become themselves.

Why am I passionate about this?

In college, I majored in Human Development and Family Studies and found my calling – to work with kids and create SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) content for them. While still an undergrad, my first book was published (People Are Like Lollipops - a picture book celebrating diversity.) Throughout my career, I’ve continued writing books and creating multimedia content for kids and teens while helping parents support their kids’ character development in the digital age. I read a lot of parenting books, but I don’t always learn something new that opens my heart and mind. Each book I’ve recommended here did that for me. I hope the books on my list will help you on your parenting journey.

Annie's book list on helping kids become themselves

Annie Fox Why did Annie love this book?

Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter. When she and her pre-teen son were both diagnosed with ADHD in the same year it became her personal and professional mission to find out as much as she could about this increasingly common diagnosis. Anyone who knows and loves someone who’s been diagnosed with ADHD would do well to read this book as a guide through the often bewildering landscape of ADHD treatments. As serious and personal as Buzz is, Ellison is a great writer and her memoir is equal parts science, expert interviews and analysis, parenting angst, and humor.

By Katherine Ellison,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"An absorbing, sharply observed memoir." -- Kirkus Reviews A hilarious and heartrending account of one mother's journey to understand and reconnect with her high-spirited preteen son-a true story sure to beguile parents grappling with a child's bewildering behavior. Popular literature is filled with the stories of self-sacrificing mothers bravely tending to their challenging children. Katherine Ellison offers a different kind of tale. Shortly after Ellison, an award-winning investigative reporter, and her twelve-year-old son, Buzz, were both diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, she found herself making such a hash of parenting that the two of them faced three alternatives: he'd go…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in ADHD, executive function, and psychiatrists?

11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about ADHD, executive function, and psychiatrists.

ADHD Explore 39 books about ADHD
Executive Function Explore 6 books about executive function
Psychiatrists Explore 58 books about psychiatrists