ADHD can improve with adulthood, but it doesn’t always vanish.
According to diagnostic interview data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, 4.4% of all adults have ADHD. The estimated prevalence of adult ADHD among people ages 18 to 44 in the United States is roughly 8 percent.
Over time, you learn to compensate for it through strategies and treatment. In some cases, you may even be able to turn it into a superpower, as hyper-successful moguls Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, and Ted Turner have.
The goal is to find ways to put yourself in a position to win — whether that’s through habits or choosing an environment where ADHD is actually to your advantage.
“Despite what the words ‘attention deficit’ imply, ADHD is not a deficit of attention, but rather, a challenge of regulating it at will or on demand.” — Jenara Nerenberg, Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You
One of the best ways to understand your learning challenge or the learning challenge that affects someone you love is to read more about it.
That’s why we compiled a list of carefully curated books for adults with ADHD so you can gain power over your symptoms, figure out a holistic treatment, and be kind to yourself as you develop your ADHD playbook.
Without further ado, check out our list of 15 mesmerizing books for adults with ADHD.
Also, be sure to browse through the bonus items to find things that help you tap into the strengths of adult ADHD.
Books for Adults with ADHD
Books for adults with ADHD aim to strike a balance between informing and entertaining. Dense reading material isn’t the best for a person diagnosed with adult ADHD. Instead, we’ve curated this section around elements that will help them focus on what they’re reading and actually absorb it such as great visuals, clean spacing, bolded and highlighted sentences, or just good old-fashioned hyper-compelling storylines and lyrical writing. The topics of these books range from getting organized with ADHD and navigating relationships with ADHD to natural relief for ADHD.
1. You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!
“For those feeling alone and less than because of ADHD”
You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! Is one of the best-selling books about attention deficit disorder of all time. Countless numbers of books about children with ADHD have helped parents put their kids in a position to win — but what do you do as an adult with ADHD?
That’s exactly what this first-of-its-kind book explores. In addition to breaking down the stigmas of ADD and ADHD, You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! Offers insights, how-tos, and encouragement for adults struggling to navigate their learning challenges.
Where to get it: You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!
2. The Gift of Adult ADD
“Every challenge has a silver lining, which is what this book explores”
Attention deficit disorder has many symptoms, such as impulsive behavior, daydreaming, and, the most well-known — difficulty focusing. However, clinical studies link these exact symptoms to exceptional intuition, creativity, and energy. But how does that relate to real-world success?
The Gift of Adult ADD explores this question and focuses on leveraging the strengths that come with ADD to improve your career, parenting skills, relationships, and all-around quality of life. The book also features real-life stories of people who have thrived because of their ADD.
Where to get it: The Gift of Adult ADHD
3. Is It You, Me, or Adult ADD?
“An eye-opening, jaw-dropping look at the effects of ADHD on relationships”
Is It You, Me, or Adult ADD? won four national book awards for good reason. This revolutionary book examines adult ADHD through an edifying lens. Even decades after adult AD/HD was recognized as a medical diagnosis, misconceptions about the challenge remain prevalent as ever. In the end, this means millions of people suffer — oftentimes, without really understanding the root of their suffering. The implications are enormous for relationships, and this book goes into great detail about why and what can be done to help.
Where to get it: Is It You, Me, or Adult ADD?
4. More Attention, Less Deficit — Success Strategies for Adults With ADHD
“For the solution stage of living with ADHD”
Ironically, very few books written about ADHD are actually designed in a way for adults with ADHD to digest the material. More Attention, Less Deficit is structured so that readers can skip from one part of the book to the next and still make sense of what they’re reading. A large part of what this ADHD-structured book focuses on is how the ADHD brain absorbs information and why these thought processes lead to challenges that non-ADHD people don’t face. But through that knowledge, the book also offers strategies for optimizing your life.
Where to get it: More Attention, Less Deficit — Success Strategies for Adults With ADHD
5. Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD
“For addressing one of the major symptoms of ADHD”
One of the biggest challenges for people with ADHD is organization. Look no further than Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD to give you effective strategies for staying mentally and spatially tidy. Additionally, this book offers techniques for staying eco-friendly as a bonus if that’s something that interests you.
Where to get it: Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD
6. Natural Relief for Adult ADHD
“A book to help you avoid the pharmaceuticals”
The average American is already massively overprescribed with medications. For many people with ADHD, medication is not the right answer, and for others, medication by itself, may not be sufficient. Natural Relief for Adult ADHD is a research and science-backed guide for holistic and non-medication treatments for ADHD.
Between staying organized and managing your time, ADHD already has its fair share of challenges, but then you factor in impulsivity and those things are compounded. For anyone looking for alternative options without going the medication route, get a hold of Natural Relief for Adult ADHD.
Where to get it: Natural Relief for Adult ADHD
7. Journeys Through ADDulthood
“The ultimate roadmap for adult ADD”
Journeys Through ADDulthood examines the emotional adversity that adults with AD/HD often face as they venture towards a more joyful place in their lives. Sari Solden, the author of Women with Attention Deficit Disorder and this heartbreaking analysis of life with adult ADD, also provides hope, solutions, and strategies for maximizing your well-being if you’re someone who has to navigate adult ADD.
Where to get it: Journeys Through ADDulthood
8. The ADHD Effect on Marriage
“A book many couples have desperately needed — without knowing it”
One of the less talked about aspects of ADHD is how difficult it can be to sustain long-term intimate relationships. Using rigorous research and case studies, The ADHD Effect on Marriage gives couples science-backed steps towards repairing troubled marriages and understanding how their relationship has been impacted by ADHD. The helpful approach of The ADHD Effect on Marriage earned it the title “Best Psychology Book of 2010.”
Where to get it: The ADHD Effect on Marriage
9. The Couples Guide to Thriving with ADHD
“Problem-solving for true life partners”
Undiagnosed ADHD is one of the biggest struggles many relationships face. Learning how to navigate the symptoms of ADHD can be the difference between chronic frustration and hurt versus joy, peace, and balance. The Couples Guide to Thriving with ADHD is all about the strategies couples can use to reduce friction and arguments, build trust and intimacy, and, when conflicts arise, fight fairly.
Where to get it: The Couples Guide to Thriving with ADHD
10. ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship
“A taboo stacked on a taboo leaves everyone in the dark”
This monumental book examines the impact of ADHD on both sex lives and relationships and goes into depth about how a better sex life will improve the quality of your relationship. Plus, it demonstrates why all of that is critical for couples with one partner with ADHD.
ADHD After Dark is grounded in data generated from a survey of over 3000 adult couples where one partner has ADHD. The author is a certified sex therapist and ADHD expert, and she uses both areas of expertise to enlighten the reader about the impact of ADHD on couples’ sex lives and happiness, including topics such as low desire, performance problems, negotiating differences, porn, infidelity, sex, and more. ADHD After Dark also provides strategies and treatment interventions when specific struggles emerge.
Where to get it: ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship
11. Adult ADHD-Focused Couple Therapy — Clinical Interventions
“For technical, nitty-gritty ways of healing your relationship”
In recent years, the sheer number of ways ADHD affects adults has come to light. Since ADHD first became known to the general public, the primary focus and research were centered around childhood ADHD, which meant it was still silently wrecking adult lives.
Adult ADHD-Focused Couple Therapy raises awareness about how adult ADHD can cause grave and unintended consequences in driving safety, education and employment, financial management, and relationships. This book offers techniques and approaches for treating the range of challenges that ADHD can create within the most critical relationship of all — your relationship with your significant other.
Where to get it: Adult ADHD-Focused Couple Therapy — Clinical Interventions
12. Nutrient-Based Psychiatry
“For tackling the ADHD challenge effectively”
It bears repeating: The average American is severely overprescribed pharmaceutical drugs. Nutrient-Based Psychiatry is an alternative perspective and possible solution for anyone looking to take a more holistic route. Nutrient-Based Psychiatry goes into great detail about the integration of nutritional advice into traditional psychiatric treatments that focus on ADHD. The book is extremely well-researched and peer-reviewed by trained psychiatrists, and is the first guide to meet both patients and health care professionals in the middle.
Where to get it: Nutrient-Based Psychiatry
13. New ADHD Medication Rules: Brain Science & Common Sense
“The common sense guide for ADHD medication”
Medical treatment for ADHD often fails for multiple reasons — sometimes, it’s the drugs themselves, and other times, it’s how they’re administered. New ADHD Medication Rules reveal all-too-common problems with medications such as imbalanced treatments, diagnostic confusion, and much, much more. But it doesn’t stop short of problems. This doctor-written book illuminates how mistakes happen and how better communication with medical pros can improve treatment using clinical experience, lab research, and data.
Where to get it: New ADHD Medication Rules: Brain Science & Common Sense
14. The ADHD Guide to Career Success
“Because you can build a life around your ADHD”
Most people understand how difficult the classroom can be for children with ADHD, but what if the children grow up, the symptoms stay, and it’s only the setting changes? That’s exactly what happens when adults with ADHD enter the workplace — that’s where adult ADHD causes some of the hardest challenges. However, it is possible to create a work environment that allows people with adult ADHD to thrive and take advantage of the unique talents that come from looking at the bright side of ADHD.
Where to get it: The ADHD Guide to Career Success
15. Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
“Because ADHD can cause fatigue and other things you need to know”
Dr. Lenard Adler, director of the Adult ADHD Program at New York University School of Medicine, created the most authoritative book on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He breaks down common misconceptions, early signs of ADHD, and how-tos about getting accurately diagnosed, coupled with treatment options and coping techniques. As a bonus, Scattered Minds features a screening quiz.
Where to get it: Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
16. Smart But Stuck
“An eye-opening look at ADHD through real stories”
This compelling read provides 15 stories about high IQ, capable teens, and adults who have gotten “stuck” in the workplace, school, and/or in social dynamics because of their ADHD. Smart But Stuck breaks down the often overlooked role that emotions play in ADHD. Even intelligent people with ADHD can get stuck because they can’t zero in on mission-critical tasks and vital relationships. Of course, Smart But Stuck doesn’t leave the reader “stuck.” Instead, this book for adults and teens with ADHD offers treatments and strategies for creating a more productive and fulfilling life.
Where to get it: Smart But Stuck
17. Driven To Distraction
Driven To Distraction is a bestselling book designed to provide answers and current medical information for adults with ADHD. Explaining the mechanisms behind the distraction, this groundbreaking book helps anyone struggling with ADHD to turn their struggle into a strength.
Where to get it: Driven To Distraction
