I really enjoyed this one so much because as someone who just became aware of her neurodivergence, everything started to make sense. Ciccone's own experiences in her youth align with my own and I felt so seen. As a Black woman, I was very thankful that she consistently mentioned how the BIPOC neurodivergent experience is even more different and has the capacity to be isolating, leading to more misunderstanding. As girls, we are socialized in ways that make it harder for ADHD to be diagnosed and this really reflects more of how society has failed us women and girls.

Really enjoyed reading this! It was very informative while also being palatable. I learned a lot and will definitely be rereading in the future. Would highly recommend to anyone with ADHD, particularly women diagnosed later in life.

Wish I could have heard more from the Nowhere Girls that the author interviewed.

Part memoir, part non-fiction this book reflects back on Carla Ciccone's childhood and teenage years before she was diagnosed with ADHD. She struggled with the usual symptoms, but because it was the 90s, her symptoms weren't recognized. She detailed additional struggles she had in adulthood until she received a diagnosis and medication. This was not the happy ending, tied up with a bow that one would think. Instead, she reflects on the way medicine makes her feel, and the way our society is set up in such a way that we have to take medicine just to keep the cogs moving.

Throughout the book she interviews or references prominent ADHD researchers and sheds light on some of the resources that I didn't even know were available, such as a coach for parents whose children are diagnosed with ADHD. She is based in Canada, so that may be specific to her area. However I really appreciated the reminder that exercise and fresh air can be as effective as medicine for those of us who are able to incorporate these into our day. When I am able to exercise regularly, I do see a difference.

I enjoyed this book and would like to read more.

i think this is an amazing read for anyone who has adhd, or anyone who would like to understand adhd better. ciccone blends personal experience with data masterfully as she paints a picture of the differences that women experience when it comes to receiving and ADHD diagnosis and living with it.

ciccone doesn’t sugar coat things at all as she outlines her own personal struggles, the disparities between diagnoses in girls and boys, and the issues that most people with adhd face. as someone with adhd i really saw myself in this book as i was reading it. it was a very raw and truthful examination into some of the experiences that women have with adhd. ciccone also highlights the comorbidity between adhd and other disorders such as ocd, autism, and other learning disorders.

i think that any woman with an adhd diagnosis would feel very seen reading this book and i think that those who don’t have adhd could learn a lot (beyond what’s in the dsm) about adhd and the actual experiences that people have with ADHD

Technically I don't like to rate non-fiction books, but I did absolutely devour this one and found it to be very informative in all sorts of different ways. As someone who always felt like I had ADHD but also was not formally diagnosed until post-uni/my early to mid-20s, I found this book highly relatable, with many of the experiences and realizations brought to light by Ciccone resonating with me. Highly rec this book just as a great (though perhaps somewhat niche?) non-fiction read to those who are interested, and most especially to those who, like myself and Ciccone, grappled with their own ADHD on their own before being officially diagnosed.

This was a book that I desperately needed to read. It came at such a great time because I’m currently navigating the reality of being neurodivergent and having this be my reality now at almost thirty. It feel like I’m in mourning, for who I could’ve been if I would’ve received the help that I so desperately needed when I was younger.

But as Ciccone points out, society has socialized girls in a way that doesn’t really give us a fighting chance nor a way to receive a diagnosis early on. While reading this, I found myself doing some personal excavation because what Ciccone talked about eerily mirrored my experience as an undiagnosed ADHD young Black girl . I had received my diagnoses for depression and anxiety but I feel like the one that I needed the most, the acknowledgment of my ADHD was so far out of reach and Ciccone talks about how far out of reach it is for so many of us Nowhere girls.

Besides how inclusive and informative this memoir was, I’m thankful that Ciccone says the only way to have any actual change because just purely handing out ADHD diagnoses to girls, women, and femmes is true societal restructuring. Capitalism is neurotypical she says, which means that those of us who are neurodivergent were always going to “fail” because we were set up to. This is how it was designed.

I’m very grateful to have read this and I hope that other Nowhere girls feel seen and find reading this cathartic.