Why is a generation of women only now discovering they have ADHD? (Spoiler: misogyny). A writer examines the cost of living with undiagnosed ADHD in a reported memoir about the girls that medical science ignored.
When Carla Ciccone is diagnosed with ADHD at thirty-nine—an event brought on by the demands of early motherhood—it flips the script on the story of her life. After years of self-blame and sabotage, it turns out that her most reviled traits aren’t deep personality flaws, but symptoms of an undiagnosed disorder. And as she goes from being her own biggest hater to something a bit more compassionate, she notices the growing community of women in the same situation.
Weaving her personal story into a broader investigation of the rise in ADHD diagnoses, Carla draws on scientific research and expert interviews as she looks back on the classrooms of the 1990s, where “ADD” was reserved for hyperactive white boys and the girls learned to mask their differences. She examines the hormonal upheavals of adolescence and their unique effects on neurochemistry and later charts her chaotic entrance into motherhood. She also reflects on the history of women’s mental healthcare and the pressure put on us to perform our genders in a certain way. Throughout, Carla seeks to understand the ramifications of an ignored mental disorder on an entire generation—the nowhere girls.
With humor, depth and detailed reporting, Nowhere Girl explores the cultural impact of ADHD on girls and women and offers a path forward for reclaiming our narratives, forgiving ourselves and parenting our children (and reparenting ourselves) with the softness we didn’t receive.