One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir: Surviving Life with Undiagnosed ADD by Bryan L. Hutchinson (A Review)

Bryan L. Hutchinson has written a book for all parents, teachers, physicians and counselors as well as any adult diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (“ADD”) to read.  Hutchinson spent his entire youth and young adult life wondering what made him different, unacceptable in some settings, and caused his difficult relationship with his father.

In One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir, Hutchinson shares his highs and lows, ups and downs, successes and failures, and how he finally came to understand himself and the world around him.

What this book is not:  

• A manual of technical terminology explaining ADD in detail
• A scientific explanation by a physician, psychologist, psychiatrist or other clinician
• A medical textbook
• An immediate fix for your loved one who suffers from ADD

What this book is:

• An honest look at one individual’s life spent coping with an undiagnosed condition, ADD 
• A sharing from the heart so that the reader might understand why a child behaves as he or she does, or why a spouse is behaving as she or he is, or why a co-worker is behaving as he or she is
• A book detailing how one person finally found out what was causing his life struggles
• A helpful look for parents, teachers and counselors in our schools at the ADD personality and behaviors in simple terms from someone who knows
• And so much more!

As a grandmother of an 18-year old soon-to-be-graduate from high school, I found so much of my grandson in the pages of this book.  Not to mention a better understanding of his mother, my stepdaughter, who remains an undiagnosed ADD victim.  Fortunately, her son had the attention of teachers and his other grandmother in early grade school and has received some help along the way.

Hutchinson has offered a gift to the world of ADD patients, their families, teachers, physicians, and employers.  A handbook written by someone who knows firsthand what ADD is and how it feels to be the person living with it.

If you are in any way interacting with someone you know who has ADD or you suspect may have it, you must read this book.

One cautionary statement:  Hutchinson’s writing style mirrors the speech patterns of our grandson.  This is not to say that he isn’t a good writer — it is to say that he writes as he thinks, or as an ADDer thinks.  Rapidly, in long thoughts, and this can cause his writing to be disconcerting at first.  For some this may make reading the book seem difficult at first. Be patient and give Hutchinson a chance to help you understand him and many others.

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I received a free copy of One Boy’s Struggle from Story Cartel in exchange for an honest review.