Chasing Kites: A Memoir About Living With ADHD

by Tom Nardone

What would it be like to live in a world of distractibility? Your attention is drawn away with the glimpse of a red kite in the sky. As you watch it, everything around you disappears from your consciousness. Even when you want to concentrate, your attention floats and bobs on a breeze you cannot see or control.

Follow Tom Nardone through his experiences living with ADHD from a childhood where neither children nor adults understood to an adulthood of fulfillment with a diagnosis, treatment and family of his own.

Tom Nardone candidly exposes his thoughts and feelings about his world and the effect of ADHD on the choice he made, his job performance and his relationships.

Genres: Memoir

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can use Google all you want, but nothing can give a person whose never suffered from ADHD, or anything similar, more knowledge, insight, and understanding than personal experience. Tom Nardone delivers a deep education through detailed stories that have occurred throughout the entirety of his life. While teaching the obstacles he has surely faced, he does an exceptional job at making sure your abs hurt from laughing as well!!! I would recommend this book to ALL audiences.

[Andrew Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

just as promised, this book was not one day in my house before I was reading it. throught most of the book, it was as though the author was describing my own life and my difficulties with ADHD, before I learned to accept it. There is no technical BS in this book, just real stories, real lessons, from a real person who's been there and can put the experience into words anyone can follow.Tom Nardone's writing is straightforward and eloquent, with a side of hard rock. I appreciate every word on every page.

[Kristi Lazzari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It is honest and it's real. Funny, heartbreaking and triumphant. If you have ADHD you must read this book. If you do not have ADHD, you must read this book. Tom Nardone is a natural storyteller and gives us quite a glimpse into his world.

[Chelsea DiCicco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have so much I want to say about this book, but I'm not sure where to start. Wow. Just a little mind blown. First of all, 5 shiny stars to Tom, not only for his originality but for having the... ahem... balls... to say, what he has said in this book. Gritty, hard to read at times, honest to God, truth. I have such an admiration for the humility and courage it took to write these words.

Tom completely exposes his insecurities, and truly shares every bit of his life in this must read story. I won't lie, I typically don't have the attention span for a memoir; having ADHD myself. This read was an incredible exception. I am still processing the wonders of this and I will continue my review upon further thought... I just felt I needed to say something now. To be continued...

[Carolyn D'Argenio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Nardone, of the popular blog ADHD People and podcast The Tom Nardone Show, reveals yet another layer of his "awesomeness" with this book. Tom is a person who lives loudly and proudly with his ADHD. He's not one to chat about neuroscience or the latest issue of whatever. He's a person who likes to make people laugh. Often, this comes from Tom's acknowledged lack-of-filter ADHD characteristic. This characteristic, though, isn't to be thought negatively. This characteristic contributed to the quality of this book. This is a good book. Tom didn't hold things back. His reflections are genuine and raw and led me to react with laughter, tears, and moments when I had found myself simultaneously smiling, shaking my head, and saying "oh, my!"

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, nothing but REAL LIFE, no fluffy BS.

My 10 year old son has ADD and I probably do too. It's always comforting to know that there are others out there with the same challenges.

The author isn't setting out to teach people new things about ADHD, but mostly just so others know they aren't alone and maybe a little bit of insight on the internal thoughts of an ADHDer.

[Kriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chasing Kites is Tom Nardone's unflinching look at growing up in a world that was as incomprehensible to him as he was to everyone in it. "Tom, why can't you ... " "I don't know ..." "What's wrong with you?" "I don't know." "What am I going to do with you? I just don't know."

Nardone relates story after story, some hysterical, some warm, some gut wrenching, on his journey from kindergarten through high school and into adulthood. Years after Nardone graduated from high school, a frustrated but caring boss who was firing him from yet another job, took him aside before showing him the door and said "Tom, you might want to get checked for ADHD." A doctor confirmed the diagnosis. Nardone began treatment, began to find answers, and began to incorporate his new-found knowledge into his life.

To read this book only as an ADHD book, however, is to do it an injustice. It is a story about any kid who is told to fit in but can't. Who can't understand why she struggles with the simplest of things. It is a story about a kid finding his way, it is about the power and limits of a parent's love.

If you listen to Tom Nardone's podcast or read his blog, you are familiar with his statement "I AM Tom Nardone," and his frequent claim to awesomeness. By the end of his book that statement goes beyond playful bravado and becomes Nardone's proud declaration of exactly who he is -- that awesome little boy all grown up and happily chasing kites. He is ... Tom Nardone.

[Gina Gaetano Fenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had my roaring with laughter - as well as unexpectedly reduced to tears. Refreshingly honest depiction of life with ADHD as told by Tom Nardone. Great read.

[Ashley A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who knows anyone with ADHD.