Life to the Extreme: How a Chaotic Kid Became America’s Favorite Carpenter

by Ty Pennington

Ty Pennington shares stories from his life and offers a behind-the-scenes look at your favorite home shows!

As a kid, Ty Pennington had too much energy. He was chaotic, bouncing off the walls, and on a first-name basis with the local emergency room staff. Back then there wasn't public awareness of attention deficit disorder yet. People just thought Ty was rambunctious. A trouble maker. What do you do with a kid who just can't sit still? Who can't focus?

But Ty discovered something amazing when he was just a he felt focused when he was building something. He discovered that he loved to work with his hands - to use tools and be creative. He loved to try new things, build and design new things.

In Life to the Extreme Ty shares his remarkable life story. In his characteristic humorous style, he takes you racing through his life with ADHD-infused diversions that will make you laugh out loud. He shares about how he was diagnosed with ADHD in college, and what it has meant to be an advocate for ADHD awareness. He shares about his start as a model and carpenter, and his eventual move to television where he starred in the hit shows Extreme Home Edition and Trading Spaces.

Life to the Extreme will inspire you. Ty's boundless energy and his sense of humor are infectious. You'll laugh. You might cry a little. And you'll definitely be inspired to change the lives of those around you.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Humor, Mental Health

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2019

About the author

Design television was never the same once we were introduced to the quirky and creative Ty Pennington. The groundbreaking home improvement series Trading Spaces has returned after a 10 year hiatus, giving us a chance to get reacquainted with Ty as a carpenter, and now designer.

Pennington has been recognized as a leader in the field of volunteerism for his work on Extreme Makeover and Ty’s Great British Adventure. He has also served as ambassador for the Sears American Dream campaign.

Ask Ty what makes him tick and he’ll say, “It’s about the joy of doing things for others. what we do is about family, about America and adding in these random acts of kindness can restore your faith in people.”

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

The biography of a guy with ADHD who worked his way into becoming a celebrity. Some pictures, and few pages make this different than others. If you're a fan of this guy you should pick it up. If you have no idea who he is, maybe skip it.

[Amy Bruestle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to have won this book through a goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

Growing up, I used to LOVE watching Ty Pennington on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition!! I loved the before and after shots and the creativity of planning the kid’s bedrooms and play areas the most! It made me dream about my own fantasy house! That being said, I admit I am a bit biased towards Ty to begin with.

I loved this memoir. I love how he isn’t afraid to talk about his struggle with ADHD. I know this has probably helped many people and given others stories to relate to. You can’t have a better and more powerful book than that!

[Michelle Ule · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Extreme Makeovers years ago when I watched it. Toward the end, though, it became so over the top, I lost interest.

Pennington's story about growing up with ADHD would have been better told if he and co-writer Thrasher had not tried to make us feel like we, too, had ADHD.

I wanted a straight linear story. Instead, I guess like Pennington's mother, I got a tale that bounced all over the place with asides, hints, and just a little too much cockiness.

I'm not sure why Zondervan published it, either--I saw nothing of spiritual value in this tale.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book where I just expected more. I was so tired of hearing how "lucky" he was. I read the book for inspiration, but that is not what I got. My son also has ADHD, and I thought it would be nice to see how someone with the same condition succeeded in life. Instead the book was all over the place, poorly written, and more about his shows, than a child growing up with ADHD and succeeding in life.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the insights into a life with ADHD. Reading the book made me feel like I was talking with someone with ADHD and leaning about his life was interesting and inspiring.

[Sorinda Meza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Some parts had me laughing. Other parts made me cry. Explains a lot about what it's like living with ADHD. My son was diagnosed with ADHD also. So yes I can understand what he goes through.

[Merry Miller moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*** 'Fern: The Fate of Fern'
I love Ty Pennington. I loved him on Trading Spaces and then on Extreme Home Makeover Edition. His energy and excitement are infectious. Plus, he is really good looking-I knew he was a male model at least once in his lifetime. The pages are beautiful and I love the drawings and the pictures in the book. Ty talks about growing up with a brother, Wynn. They watched Ultraman when they were kids. He mentions Ultraman fighting Godzilla-my son and I love Godzilla! Ty suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He talks about meeting Tim Gunn-and how infectious, hilarious, and genuine Tim's laugh is. I love Tim Gunn! He quotes songs from famous bands describing events and times in his life. I love this. Page 167, 'Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share'-Led Zeppelin-my favorite all time band. :) Ty has worked so hard for everything in his life. His story is one of hard work and survival. He's an inspiration. I just feel sad for him that there is no significant other in his life. He has so much to offer. Great book!

[Jennifer Crutchfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is chaotic, just like Ty and his life. A decent example of how Attention Deficit works.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

as i'm listening to Ty read this book, I'm thinking:
I need to go buy this book so I can add highlights to it.
He's a great story teller, what I want to color all his childhood stories one color, his jobs before Trading Spaces one color, his years at Trading Spaces another, and his stories about Extreme Home Makeover yet another.
He'll start a story in one chapter and leaving you hanging on it's conclusion. Then add tidbits of it in three more chapters.
In the epilogue, Ty does explain we wanted this book to have the feel of listening to the inside thoughts of someone with ADHD. And he NAILED IT!!!
This book looks back on how trials+forks in the road+lucky breaks+hard work+never giving up, having a plan a b c +trying new things+ staying true to yourself= can become the you you are now
Thank You Ty for a great and personal book. I loved reading it.

[Kenra · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I won my copy of Life to the Extreme in a giveaway through Goodreads.*

I remember watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and like so many others, falling for Ty's charm and energy.

The show has long ended, but years later, reading Ty's insight on his experience during the show and in addition learning about his life, his journey finding himself has brought a delightful sense of nostalgia.

Reading this book was liking stepping through a time machine and remembering a time when every Sunday was Extreme Sunday. It was nostalgic and filled with incredible stories. And Ty's infectious personality is apparent on every page.

I honestly loved reading this. Now excuse me while I go hunt down on YouTube for episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is as filled with energy as Ty Pennington himself. As he was describing things and telling stories I felt like he was right there talking to me. I'm just one of the many fans of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and really miss the show. Good to know that Ty is the real deal and loves making other people's lives better. My favorite part of the book? Learning how he is now giving back to his mom.

Gotta love you Ty!

[Spencer Birt · Rating 5 out of 5]

He ain't Shakespeare but what a great read! The information given on ADHD quickly explains the authors writing style. The combination of educational matter and leg slapping humor in real life situations blends well with the bounce around writing style. Stay loose and enjoy it for what it is. For me it explained a lot.

Spencer Birt

[Rosanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book into the mind and life of Ty with ADHD

This is a great biography and look into the life and mind of Ty Pennington who has ADHD. As a person who has ADD I can relate. His creativity helps him to get into and out of situations. The reader can see how he grows from a wild child to an empathetic man. Read it.

[Dawn Tavela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit crazy and a lot all over the place. I loved Ty on Extreme Makeover. The show was amazing! I have never known anyone with ADHD, but through Ty telling his story, I feel like I get it now.

[Jena Massey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was funny and well written.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great personal look at Ty's life and challenges. His story is told in a simple down to earth style. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I won this book in a GoodReads Giveaway.

[Judy VanNewkirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of Ty Pennington since his Trading Spaces so I was interested in his life experiences...wow ADHD, more proof that is hard but loved how he's dealt with it

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book off Goodreads. I learned soooo much from him. He’s awesome as well as the book. Highly recommend. Thank you.

[Randa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to get a glimpse into the mind of someone who has ADHD. It's also full of laughs in ways only Ty can bring them.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for individuals with and parents of kids with ADHD. It is honest and shares a real experience of living with ADHD, the struggles, and triumphs

[Mediaman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Ty Pennington but hated this disappointing book because it is written in ADHD style. Ty claims to have had undiagnosed ADHD growing up (despite the fact that his mother was a child psychologist and when he was in high school the term ADD was formally used). His mind shoots all over the place and he was very destructive as a child. The problem here is that he destroys the book with the same obscure thinking.

Blame it on his co-author as well. The two have decided to fashion the book as a seven-day project (like his show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) so each day has a different theme ("destruction") but within one theme Ty jumps from his childhood to his TV show to his modeling career to his military stepdad to people he helped with his TV show to his bed wetting, to his distant birth father, to his fans, etc.

There is no order to this and in the middle of one story he will stop and use cutesy language to flip to another story, telling you to just wait because he'll be back to the original soon. It's all incredibly annoying, repetitive, and extremely difficult to follow. There are times he jumps to three subjects on one page, all of them incomplete, and you have no idea what he is talking about. At other times he mentions the same thing three times in a couple pages. After a while you understand what's wrong with his brain, but his co-author should have framed it properly.

This is no way to write a book. Ty has a valid story to tell, but it needs a narrative that flows. Halfway through the book I realized that he wasn't really telling readers much at all--he was hiding his true emotional story behind the scattered ADHD approach to the book. He skips over most significant life events in a paragraph or two so we don't truly get any insight into the man. He deflects to tell random asides about people who appeared on the show, but they mean little to us since it happened so long ago that we won't recall it. The book becomes essentially a print version of his TV show, where they cram a bunch of major details from seven days into 44 well-edited frantic minutes to make you feel sorry for the lead characters. What works for TV doesn't work in print.

In the end I don't feel very sorry for him--I feel sorry for all the people he harmed when young, for his mom and stepdad for putting up with him, and for the readers that had to stumble through this mess. He still doesn't seem completely healed or at peace or even fully able to understand himself, so maybe he should have undertaken more self-analysis before constructing a book that falls apart so easily.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading “LIFE TO THE EXTREME: HOW A CHAOTIC KID BECAME AMERICA’S FAVORITE CARPENTER” by TY PENNINGTON . I read this book while listening to the audible version narrated by the author, TY PENNINGTON. I also won this hardcover, autographed book on Goodreads, which I love. As a kid, Ty Pennington had too much energy. He was chaotic, bouncing off the walls, and on a first-name basis with the local emergency room staff. Back then there wasn't public awareness of attention deficit disorder yet. People just thought Ty was rambunctious. A trouble maker. What do you do with a kid who just can't sit still? Who can't focus? But Ty discovered something amazing when he was just a boy: he felt focused when he was building something. He discovered that he loved to work with his hands - to use tools and be creative. He loved to try new things, build and design new things. In Life to the Extreme Ty shares his remarkable life story. In his characteristic humorous style, he takes you racing through his life with ADHD-infused diversions that will make you laugh out loud. He shares about how he was diagnosed with ADHD in college, and what it has meant to be an advocate for ADHD awareness. He shares about his start as a model and carpenter, and his eventual move to television where he starred in the hit shows Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Trading Spaces. Life to the Extreme will inspire you. Ty's boundless energy and his sense of humor are infectious. You'll laugh. You might cry a little. And you'll definitely be inspired to change the lives of those around you. I also have been diagnosed with ADD, not ADHD and I take medicine for it that works. So this book was very interesting to me.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading “LIFE TO THE EXTREME: HOW A CHAOTIC KID BECAME AMERICA’S FAVORITE CARPENTER” by TY PENNINGTON . I read this book while listening to the audible version narrated by the author, TY PENNINGTON. I also won this hardcover, autographed book on Goodreads, which I love. As a kid, Ty Pennington had too much energy. He was chaotic, bouncing off the walls, and on a first-name basis with the local emergency room staff. Back then there wasn't public awareness of attention deficit disorder yet. People just thought Ty was rambunctious. A trouble maker. What do you do with a kid who just can't sit still? Who can't focus? But Ty discovered something amazing when he was just a boy: he felt focused when he was building something. He discovered that he loved to work with his hands - to use tools and be creative. He loved to try new things, build and design new things. In Life to the Extreme Ty shares his remarkable life story. In his characteristic humorous style, he takes you racing through his life with ADHD-infused diversions that will make you laugh out loud. He shares about how he was diagnosed with ADHD in college, and what it has meant to be an advocate for ADHD awareness. He shares about his start as a model and carpenter, and his eventual move to television where he starred in the hit shows Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Trading Spaces. Life to the Extreme will inspire you. Ty's boundless energy and his sense of humor are infectious. You'll laugh. You might cry a little. And you'll definitely be inspired to change the lives of those around you. I also have been diagnosed with ADD, not ADHD and I take medicine for it that works. So this book was very interesting to me.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will admit that I have only seen a couple episodes of the two series that Ty Pennington is renowned for: Trading Spaces and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition but I stumbled over it while looking for something else and I figured, why not? Sounds interesting.

And it is. Ty was a ball of energy as a child and he still is when you consider the constraints that both shows had to work under. Energy that caused him to be labeled as rambunctious and a trouble maker as a child. This was before attention deficit hyperactivity syndrome was identified but he found a way to deal with it - he enjoyed making things with his hands and he loved to design.

Admittedly, the book jumps around but he is writing this book in the same seven day formula used to a new house on EM:HE as he describes instances of his life, his family, his various careers as a model and carpenter before becoming a television host/team leader of a series. Positive happenstances and proverbial doors shutting so that he needed to change directions. There are also moments where a sudden disjointed comment will make you chuckle before he continues with the previous thread. Welcome to the mind of someone with ADHD.

The book is as energized as Pennington and might even wear the reader out but it is insightful for more than just the history of a television personality. A personality that feels that his success is not only due to the work and energy he has poured into it but a certain amount of luck. I may not be very familiar with Mr. Pennington beforehand but I certainly have a bit of respect for the man after reading this book.

2021-182

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who was a fan of "Trading Spaces" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" back when those shows were still on the air, Ty Pennington is a very familiar personality for me. On those shows, he appears somewhat manic, with an over-the-top personality. I was curious to read this book, to see how much of what I saw on TV was an act and how much was really him.

Somehow, I was unaware that he has ADHD, but upon learning that, I can't say that I'm at all surprised. And reading this book suggests that the Ty Pennington we saw on TV is who he really is. This autobiography is a little uneven, with bursts of energy, but also with sections that are a little slow. It ricochets from one topic to an aside and back again in ways that threaten to give the reader whiplash. But through it all, we get a glimpse of what Ty's childhood was like, trying to cope with his undiagnosed ADHD, as well as his early adult years as he struggled to find a path for his life.

Through it all, we get a sense of who Ty is and why he is the personality that was so popular on his TV shows. We also get a sense of the price he paid to achieve that popularity. But what comes through the most is the appreciation Ty has for being given the chance to help others using his skills and talent.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.

I'm familiar with Trading Spaces and Extreme Makeover but haven't watched either in a while.

This book focuses on the creation of both shows as well as Pennington's experiences growing up, in school, going to auditions, and figuring himself out. He talks a lot about his ADHD diagnosis and how it impacted the people around him growing up.

There's a lot of jumping around in this book. It's not very linear - we go from Pennington's childhood to an anecdote about an audition to a behind the scenes tidbit about a show and then back. There's also notes throughout the book that look like hand written sticky notes but they're not really touched on or expanded on in the text its self.

I was expecting more about Pennington's rise to fame and info about the shows he's in. Most of the stories are pretty high level and while they do explain how he got his job, it's not super specific on the steps he took to prep.

Overall it seems to be a pretty honest memoir. Pennington talks about his family hand gives us a peak inside his head.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Received "Life to the Extreme" from Goodreads for an honest review. Before reading this book I had enjoyed the TV shows with Ty Pennington...most of the time. The shows became over the top and plain silly.
"Life to the Extreme" was a disappointment as I had hoped to learn more about ADHD and how Ty overcame his disability. The book was disjointed and confusing. It hopped around and left me disjointed. By the end I felt like I had a reading disability as I couldn't figure out the point of the book. Should I felt sorry for Ty? I did read the entire book;but I won't be recommending to anyone.

[Betty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads Give-away in exchange for my honest opinion. I must say I was very confused and disappointed by this book. I simply could not get into Mr. Pennington's writing style. After I was finished with the book I put it in my husband's "to be read" stack, thinking he might enjoy the book more. However, he returned it after 2 days of attempting to read it and told me he simply couldn't get into it. He also commented on the "smudged"looking paper that was used to print it - I assume it is supposed to look like blue-print paper, but it was highly distracting.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life to the Extreme is the disjointed story of Ty Pennington who walks through the high and low points of his life as he worked through his ADHD to become the success that he is today. The book is all over the place and bounces around giving you a look at someone with ADHD. If you want a nice progression of a story you are not going to get it here. The book does offer some fun stories, ties it back to his two major shows and tells some of his background and how he got lucky. Overall there is some fun things in here if you are a fan of his shows but the disjointed nature did drive me crazy as I read it.

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I never heard of Ty Pennington before, this memoir looked like it might be an interesting read. Unfortunately, I found it to be written in such a choppy and manic manner that I ended up skimming quite a bit. Nevertheless, it's always good to see how someone who was probably considered by others, including many teachers, to be a hopeless case as a child, grew up to be a successful adult, who shows sincere concern for others in need.

(Note: I received a free copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)